MAN'S  B" 


r 'K)WN 


I      ; 


Hi! 


y  ,    j 


presented  to  the 
UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SAN  DIEGO 

by 

Tom  Ham 


MAN'S   BIRTHRIGHT 


Man's  Birthright 


New  York 
Desmond   FitzGerald,   Inc. 


Copyright,  1911 

By  DIBMOND  FITZGERALD,  INC. 
Alt  Sights  Reurved 


TO 

MY  WIFE 


PREFACE 

"  AMERICA,"  said  Walt  Whitman,  "  has  set  forth 
upon  the  most  tremendous  task  ever  conceived  by 
man;  a  task  indeed  beyond  the  scope  of  any  man's 
thought.  Urged  on  by  the  inner  destiny- forces  of 
the  race,  she  is  attempting  to  realize  the  race-ideal 
of  a  true  Democracy. 

"  To  accomplish  her  errand  she  must  be  nerved 
and  vitalized  by  the  highest  and  deepest  of  ideals; 
for  hers  is  a  world-battle  with  all  the  relentless  foes 
of  progress." 

What  must  these  "  highest  and  deepest  ideals " 
be  in  order  that  her  mighty  task  may  be  accomplished, 
and  posterity  fall  heir  to  that  which  man  has  striven 
to  attain  through  the  ages? 

Has  the  East  anything  to  offer  the  West?  Have 
European  nations  discovered  any  definite  ideals 
worthy  of  emulation  ? 

No  more  than  have  the  People  of  the  United 
States  who  stand  stupidly  by,  witnessing  the  stu- 
pendous farce  that  is  being  enacted  and  of  which 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

they  form  a  part;  an  exact  copy  of  the  failure  of 
Democracy  depicted  by  Plato  in  his  "  Republic." 

Have  the  People  of  Switzerland,  who  possess  the 
best  of  our  so-called  civilized  governments,  realized 
those  ideals;  or  may  they  be  found  in  an  industrial 
Democracy  as  conceived  by  Karl  Marx;  or  are  the 
ideals  attainable  only  through  methods  of  "  single- 
tax,"  as  conceived  by  Henry  George? 

Iri  an  endeavor  to  answer  these  and  other  ques- 
tions of  an  economic  and  political  nature,  we  shall 
take  the  United  States  of  America  as  a  partial  illus- 
tration for  the  reason  that  its  population  is  com- 
posed practically  of  all  nations  inhabiting  the  Earth. 

It  is  the  only  nation  that  is  recruited  from  all 
nations;  in  which  all  nations  are  interested;  and 
upon  which  the  eyes  of  all  nations  are  turned, 
watching  the  trend  of  its  present  social  develop- 
ment. 

Its  people  are  accustomed  to  constant  social  change 
and  experiment,  and,  being  the  least  hampered  by 
the  social  prejudices  and  conventions  of  a  traditional 
past,  they  are,  perhaps,  the  best  fitted  of  all  nations 
to  act  as  the  advance  guard  of  future  human  devel- 
opment. 

We  repeat,  that  we  take  the  United  States  as  a 
partial  example  only,  but  that  which  is  here  said 


PREFACE  ix 

concerning  it  applies  equally  well  to  all  peoples 
inhabiting  the  Earth — to  the  most  primitive  as  well 
as  the  most  civilized,  according  to  the  degree  of  their 
spiritual  development  and  the  climatic  conditions  to 
which  they  are  subjected. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

1 

PAGE 

I. 

PRESENT  CONDITIONS  

i 

II. 

TAXATION    

IO 

III. 

SOCIALISM.     ITS  FALLACY           

20 

IV. 

THE  LAND.     ITS  DISTRIBUTION          .... 

51 

V. 

THE  LAND.     ITS  PRODUCTIVITY         .... 

58 

VI. 

THE  ARABLE  AREA  OF  THE  EARTH 

88 

VII. 

TOWNS  AND  CITIES              

95 

VIII. 

FAMILY  HOLDINGS  AND  INHERITANCE 

105 

IX. 

WOOD           

"3 

X. 

118 

XI. 

WATER         

132 

XII. 

MINERALS     

137 

XIII. 

CONTROL    OF  THE  DISTRIBUTION    OF  THE    EARTH'S 

NATURAL  RESOURCES         

144 

XIV. 

14.8 

XV. 

WILD  ANIMALS    

•*fw 

152 

XVI. 

171 

XVII. 

LAWS  AND  THEIR  ENFORCEMENT        .... 

*  /  * 

I76 

XVIII. 

18? 

XIX. 

CORPORATIONS      

*       J 

188 

XX. 

1  80 

XXI. 

THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY        

*  v  7 

IQI 

XXII. 

THE  RECONSTRUCTION         

193 

XXIII. 

THE  TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  You  FREE 

2O2 

XXIV. 

"        «•            "            ......           ... 

216 

XXV. 

11        «            «            ..        i.        « 

237 

XXVI. 

<.        ««            it           n        «        « 

256 

EPILOGUE     

266 

APPENDIX     

267 

MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 


PRESENT  CONDITIONS 

/~1~VHE  war  of  the  classes  has  begun. 

Owing  to  the  unequal  distribution  and  monop- 
olization by  the  individual  of  the  Earth's  nat- 
ural resources,  society  to-day  stands  divided  against 
itself. 

Every  man's  hand  is  against  his  fellow. 

The  representatives  of  Organized  Capital,  syndi- 
cates, and  trusts,  whose  sole  aim  is  that  of  profit- 
making  regardless  of  consequences,  not  only  endeavor 
to  crush  all  small  competitors  within  their  spheres 
of  industry,  but  by  reason  of  their  power  acquired 
through  the  accumulation  of  enormous  wealth,  are 
to-day  able  to  plunge  whole  nations  into  war  merely 
to  serve  their  private  ends;  while  Organized  Labor 
seeks  no  less  determinedly  to  stifle  all  independent 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  workingman  who  refuses  to 
recognize  its  Unions  or  Organizations. 


2  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Unless  you  make  common  cause  with  us,  both  Or- 
ganized Capital  and  Labor  declare,  you  shall  neither 
work  nor  engage  in  independent  commercial  pursuits. 

Both  being  monopolies,  both  are  in  the  wrong. 

No  man  possesses  the  right  either  to  dictate  or 
determine  what  the  individual  shall  do,  or  how  he 
shall  conduct  his  life  or  private  affairs  so  long  as 
his  actions  and  motives  are  honorable. 

Nevertheless,  Labor  like  Capital  is  now  employ- 
ing the  same  weapons  against  the  individual — brute 
force  and  organized  violence  masking  as  law. 

The  struggle  is  a  most  unnatural  one. 

The  basic  commercial  principle  existing  between 
man  and  man,  or  the  natural  law  of  voluntary  com- 
petition which  leads  to  progress  is  being  entirely 
changed,  and  in  its  stead,  the  economic  combination 
of  force  is  supplanting  economic  competition. 

But  this  is  only  a  beginning. 

A  combination  leads  to  the  combination  of  com- 
binations, which,  if  not  checked,  must  inevitably  lead 
to  its  natural  outgrowth, — the  combination  into  one 
organization  of  the  entire  industries  of  the  land, 
rendering  it  impossible  for  the  laborer  or  employe 
to  find  more  than  one  employer,  and  the  consumer 
more  than  one  seller  from  whom  to  purchase  wares 
and  the  necessities  of  life.  And  this  in  reality  means 


PRESENT  CONDITIONS  3 

that  there  will  no  longer  be  a  distinction  between 
the  laborer  and  the  consumer,  but  all  will  become  the 
slaves  of  the  few  who  control  the  sources  from  whence 
the  necessities  of  life  are  obtained. 

The  same  hands  that  control  the  railroads,  will 
control  the  land,  forests,  and  minerals — the  same 
hands  that  control  the  banks,  will  control  the  Na- 
tional Treasury,  or,  in  other  words,  controlling  the 
sources  from  whence  the  People's  necessities  of  life 
are  obtained,  they  will  control  the  Government  as 
well. 

The  power  already  acquired  by  Organized  Capital 
is  such  that  it  to-day  controls  the  financial  markets 
of  the  world,  subjecting  the  Public  to  its  constant 
caprice  of  raising  and  lowering  prices  and  commercial 
rates  of  interest,  and  compelling  it  to  accept  adul- 
terations of  food,  imitations  and  machine-made  arti- 
cles at  a  higher  price  than  that  at  which  goods  of  a 
superior  quality  might  be  had  were  there  other  com- 
petitors in  the  field. 

The  cost  of  living  has  increased  so  steadily  through- 
out the  world  that  the  problem  of  acquiring  a  liveli- 
hood is  fast  becoming  a  serious  one  for  the  majority 
of  people. 

Within  the  immediate  confines  of  the  financial 
centers  of  the  world  rents  have  risen  out  of  all  pro- 


4  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

portion  to  legitimate  earnings,  but  in  the  average 
communities  and  rural  districts  throughout  the 
country  they  are  either  stationary  or  are  depreciating. 

Wages,  it  is  true,  increase  in  special  occupations 
and  in  special  localities,  but  not  in  general,  and  not 
in  the  same  proportion  as  the  increase  in  expenses. 

The  average  wage-earner  receiving  from  forty  to 
sixty  dollars  a  month  in  America,  or  half  or  three- 
fourths  that  amount  in  Europe,  finds  it  practically 
impossible  to  save  ever  so  little,  and  is  forced  to  live 
on  the  plainest  of  fare;  while  every  second  member 
of  the  working  classes  who  attains  the  age  of  sixty- 
five  dies  a  pauper. 

In  short,  things  in  general  which  go  to  make  life 
comparatively  comfortable  and  enjoyable  for  people 
of  moderate  means  have  increased  so  enormously  in 
price  that  many  of  them  which  were  once  regarded 
as  everyday  necessities  have  become  luxuries. 

'  The  rich  become  richer  and  continue  to  accumu- 
late wealth  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  individual 
of  the  community;  the  poor  become  poorer,  and 
each  day  their  lot  more  hopeless." 

Everything  is  sacrificed  to  profit-making.  Private 
fortunes  run  up  to  hundreds  of  millions,  while  crime 


PRESENT  CONDITIONS  5 

and  degeneracy  and  want  and  misery  increase  on 
every  hand. 

When  crime,  degeneracy,  and  pauperism  are 
steadily  on  the  increase,  and  we  are  annually  com- 
pelled to  build  new  asylums  and  prisons,  there  can 
be  little  doubt  but  that  society  as  a  whole  throughout 
the  world  is  no  longer  progressing  but  retrograding. 

"  Broadly  viewed,  the  main  characteristic  of  our 
industrial  system,  the  characteristic  which  distin- 
guishes it  from  those  of  all  other  ages,  is  its  mechan- 
ism. The  past  has  had  its  great  empires,  its  highly 
developed  philosophies,  literatures,  and  political  sys- 
tems; but  no  other  age  ever  had  so  much  mechanism. 
The  whole  world,  to  some  extent,  and  the  United 
States  in  particular,  has  been  developed  into  one  vast 
machine  for  the  production  and  distribution  of 
goods." 

The  nations  have  thrown  moderation  to  the  winds 
in  the  scramble  for  wealth.  Idleness,  extravagance, 
dishonesty,  and  lack  of  moral  responsibility  are  met 
with  on  every  hand,  while  the  brutality,  sang-froid, 
and  indifference  with  which  those  in  power  lord  it 
over  the  community  might  well  cause  the  Gods  to 
pause  and  marvel  at  the  patience  and  stupidity  of 


6  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

the  populace,  did  they  concern  themselves  with  the 
petty  affairs  of  men.  Men  without  the  slightest 
talent  or  claim  to  greatness  are  received  with  the 
acclamations  due  a  Cassar,  the  people  quite  for- 
getting that  truly  great  men  are  the  mediums  through 
which  the  truth  is  voiced  in  all  times,  and  therefore 
need  neither  ovations,  statues,  nor  tablets  to  commem- 
orate their  deeds  and  names. 

In  England,  forty-three  per  cent  of  the  popula- 
tion, however  hard  they  may  work,  however  thrifty 
they  may  be,  are  not  able  to  command  an  income 
sufficient  to  provide  for  a  standard  of  workhouse  sub- 
sistence. Further,  there  are  always  over  a  million  of 
unemployed  and  over  a  million  paupers. 

The  cost  of  living  in  the  United  States  has  risen 
about  fifty  per  cent  between  the  years  1896-1906. 
Twenty  to  thirty  per  cent  of  the  entire  working  popu- 
lation are  out  of  work  a  part  of  every  year,  and 
more  than  two  million  of  the  workers  are  unem- 
ployed from  four  to  six  months  in  the  year;  while 
forty-five  per  cent  receive  a  bare  living  wage.  One 
per  cent  of  the  families  of  the  United  States  hold 
more  than  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  national  wealth. 

Ten  million  of  our  people  are  always  underfed 
and  wretchedly  housed,  and  of  these  four  million 
are  forced  to  depend  upon  State  or  City  relief  funds 


PRESENT  CONDITIONS  7 

for  sustenance.  Nearly  half  the  families  in  the 
country  are  propertyless.  Over  a  million,  seven  hun- 
dred thousand  little  children  are  forced  to  become 
wage-earners.  The  fact  that  the  daily  wage  of  a 
little  child,  thirty  cents,  often  goes  to  procure  supper 
for  the  whole  family,  and  "  may  mean  the  difference 
between  coal  and  no  coal  in  winter,  and  ice  and  no 
ice  in  summer,"  amply  illustrates  the  degradation  to 
which  certain  classes  of  our  people  are  reduced. 

Such  are  the  conditions  which  are  increasing  more 
or  less  rapidly  over  the  entire  civilized  world. 

The  shifting  sand  upon  which  the  whole  structure 
of  modern  society  is  based  is  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  inevitable  outcome  of  the  false  doctrine 
promulgated  by  Adam  Smith  in  his  "  Wealth  of 
Nations,"  namely:  that  the  individual  in  pursuing 
his  own  interest  is  promoting  the  interests  of  all;  an 
assumption  plainly  contrary  to  fact. 

"  The  trust,"  says  Mr.  Keir  Hardie,  "  constitutes 
the  modern  menace  to  progress.  It  places  the  pro- 
ducer and  the  consumer  alike  at  the  mercy  of  the 
over-rich.  The  trust  is  more  rapacious  than  the  rob- 
ber barons  were  of  old.  It  is  the  bandit  of  com- 
merce, the  vampire  of  trade.  .  .  .  The  trust  is 
dangerous  to  national  life  and  destructive  of  the 


8  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

freedom  of  the  individual.  Its  operations  can  only 
be  successful  through  the  intimidation  of  the  work- 
ingman,  corruption  of  the  press,  and  control  of 
politics." 

The  ascendancy  of  Organized  Capital  is  fast  be- 
coming that  of  the  Beast  of  Revelation  upon  whose 
back  is  mounted  the  great  Whore  Babylon,  before 
whom  all  men  shall  bow,  rich  and  poor,  and  bond 
and  free  alike,  and  by  means  of  whose  power  no  man 
shall  buy  or  sell  save  he  who  bears  the  mark  of  the 
Beast;  a  fitting  climax  to  the  much  vaunted  progress 
attained  by  present  civilization. 

But  what  does  all  this  go  to  prove?  It  proves 
beyond  a  doubt  that  the  trusts  are  merely  an  exagger- 
ated form  of  what  unbridled  individual  power  may 
assume,  and  although  reared  and  fostered  on  the 
legitimate  commercial  principles  of  our  time,  and 
therefore  standing  quite  within  the  law,  they  never- 
theless emphasize  the  fact  that  the  entire  commercial 
system  of  the  world  to-day  is  a  false  one. 

Political  equality  cannot  remedy  social  inequality. 
So  long  as  the  mass  of  the  people  lack  an  equal  chance 
in  life  with  the  dominant  minority  or  ruling  class, 
the  growth  and  operation  of  our  financial  trusts  and 
syndicates  will  not  only  continue,  but  the  organized 


PRESENT  CONDITIONS  9 

tyranny  resulting  from  the  unequal  distribution  of 
wealth  and  power  will  destroy  every  civilization  in 
the  future  the  same  as  it  has  in  the  past. 

The  direct  cause  of  existing  evils  is  not  far  to 
seek.  The  laws  of  force  and  organized  violence 
being  still  as  strenuously  upheld  and  recognized  by 
society  as  righteous  and  justifiable  as  in  the  days  when 
the  might  of  the  sword  prevailed,  it  becomes  a  simple 
and  easy  matter  for  individuals  who  have  accumu- 
lated wealth  to  enslave  the  people  by  buying  land, 
wood,  and  minerals,  the  initial  sources  of  all  wealth, 
and  holding  them  as  their  own  under  the  shelter  of 
unjust  laws,  to  dispose  of  them  as  best  meets  the  re- 
quirements of  their  private  ends. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  the  rich  are  par- 
ticularly to  blame  for  present  conditions. 

We  are  all  to  blame.  The  blood  is  on  the  hands 
of  all  of  us;  rich  and  poor  alike.  The  rich  and 
governing  class,  owing  to  their  indifference  to  the 
suffering  of  the  masses — the  poor  because  they  toler- 
ate such  conditions. 

When  injustice  endures  for  generations  it  is  no 
longer  the  fault  of  the  Government  or  a  class  of 
men,  but  of  the  entire  Nation,  which  like  the  in- 
dividual possesses  a  conscience,  and  if  it  submits 
to  injustice,  is  guilty  of  cowardice. 


II 

TAXATION 

/""''AN  taxation  remedy  social  inequalities?  The 
^•^  advocates  of  Henry  George's  taxation  theory 
claim  that  a  single-tax  placed  upon  land  will  remedy 
existing  economic  ills  the  world  over,  and  bring  the 
control  of  the  Earth  and  its  natural  resources  back 
into  the  hands  of  the  People. 

It  is  strange  that  a  man  possessing  the  keen,  analyt- 
ical mind  of  Henry  George  should  not  have  perceived 
the  futility  of  his  scheme  or,  indeed,  of  any  scheme 
for  curing  human  ills  by  means  of  taxation.  No 
system  of  taxation  can  possibly  be  devised  that  will 
in  itself  remedy  existing  economic  inequalities  or 
overcome  the  evils  resulting  from  the  monopolization 
of  land  and  its  raw  products. 

The  adoption  of  his  single-tax  theory  would  have 
little  other  effect  than  that  of  shifting  the  burden  of 
taxation  from  one  quarter  to  another;  creating  a 
State  monopoly  upon  the  Earth's  natural  resources  in 
place  of  the  individual's  monopoly  of  to-day. 


10 


TAXATION  ii 

The  State  has  no  more  right  to  monopolize  land 
and  its  natural  resources  than  has  the  individual. 

Under  Henry  George's  taxation  system  the  in- 
dividual or  corporation  that  to-day  holds  hundreds 
or  thousands  of  acres  of  land  with  its  forests  and 
minerals  could  continue  in  possession  of  them  so  long 
as  the  single-tax  or  rent  demanded  by  the  Govern- 
ment was  paid.  And  naturally  the  tax  exacted  by 
the  State  from  those  who  rented  the  forests  and 
mines  would  be  added  to  the  price  of  the  wood  and 
minerals;  so  that  the  consumer  would  virtually  pay 
not  only  the  price  of  the  wood  and  minerals,  but  the 
tax  demanded  by  the  State  as  well. 

The  public  would  derive  no  benefit  whatever  from 
such  a  change. 

The  representatives  of  capital  would  still  remain 
in  control  of  the  earth's  natural  resources;  would 
still  be  able  to  prevent  others  from  using  or  culti- 
vating their  rightful  portion  of  the  land;  would  still, 
so  long  as  the  single-tax  was  paid,  be  able  to  keep 
other  men  from  their  birthright. 

The  practice  of  collecting  tithes  or  taxes  is  as  old 
as  the  history  of  civilization.  And  yet,  in  spite  of 
the  supposed  benefits  resulting  therefrom,  both  his- 
tory and  present  conditions  show  that  it  has  added 
nothing  to  the  advancement  of  the  human  race. 


12  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

On  the  contrary,  excessive  taxation  has  been  from 
time  immemorial  the  chief  cause  of  the  overthrow 
of  governments,  for  the  reason  that,  once  the  in- 
stitution is  adopted,  the  rate  of  taxation  never  de- 
creases but  steadily  increases. 

Taxation  in  a  moderate  form,  however,  is  in 
reality  not  an  evil,  but  highly  beneficial  to  the  State 
or  community  desiring  it,  provided  the  revenues  col- 
lected are  raised  with  the  consent  of  the  majority  of 
its  members,  and  expended  on  useful,  not  harmful 
purposes.  If  on  the  latter,  better  for  that  com- 
munity to  go  without  taxes  altogether. 

Without  taxation  there  could  be  neither  govern- 
mental nor  communal  institutions  beyond  the  primi- 
tive order  of  the  tribe  or  clan,  whose  members,  while 
recognizing  the  leadership  of  chiefs,  contribute 
nothing  to  their  support;  compelling  them  to  acquire 
their  own  livelihood  the  same  as  the  humblest  mem- 
ber of  the  community. 

Indeed,  without  taxation  society  must  inevitably 
revert  to  a  state  of  simple  husbandry — of  industry 
and  barter. 

Nevertheless,  while  granting  that  taxation  in  some 
form  or  other  is  a  governmental  necessity  if  mod- 
erately imposed,  the  fact  remains  that  it  is  in  effect 
a  fine  placed  by  the  State  upon  human  energy. 


TAXATION  13 

If  I  save  or  economize  in  order  that  I  may  in- 
crease my  gains,  down  comes  the  tax-collector  upon 
me  as  a  penalty  for  my  thrift.  If  I  construct  a 
railroad  or  a  canal,  or  cultivate  the  soil,  or  drain  a 
swamp,  or  erect  a  factory  or  a  building,  benefiting 
the  community  in  which  I  dwell  and  the  country 
at  large,  down  comes  the  tax-gatherer  again.  I  am 
robbed  of  the  fruits  of  my  labor,  and  treated  not  as 
a  benefactor  to  the  State,  but  as  a  malefactor  or  a 
public  nuisance ;  being  compelled  to  pay  a  fine. 

This  is  no  mere  figure  of  speech,  but  the  exact 
definition  of  taxation  intelligible  to  all. 

Taxation  should  not  assume  the  nature  of  a  pen- 
alty placed  upon  human  energy.  If  men  wish  to 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  labor  they  must  guard 
against  excessive  taxation,  the  result  of  ignorance 
and  indifference  on  the  part  of  the  general  public 
and  of  the  extravagance  and  corruption  of  those  in 
power. 

Overtax  the  masses  and  you  make  paupers  of 
them,  a  burden  and  a  menace  to  the  State.  Overtax 
the  rich  and  you  will  have  no  rich. 

There  should  be  a  reasonable  maximum  rate  of 
taxation  fixed  by  law  which  should  never  be  over- 
stepped; while  it  should  ever  be  the  aim  of  the 
community  to  reduce  taxation  to  a  minimum.  The 


i4  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

tax,  moreover,  should  apply  equally  to  all  citizens 
of  the  State  with  no  discrimination  in  favor  either  of 
the  rich  or  the  poor. 

The  Income-tax  is  the  only  rational  method  by 
which  such  an  equalization  of  taxation  can  be  at- 
tained. It  admits  of  no  partiality  toward  the  in- 
dividual. It  is  the  most  just  and  rational  system 
of  taxation  for  the  reason  that  men  would  pay  a 
fair  rate  of  percentage  on  what  they  earn. 

Men  are  to-day  compelled  to  pay  taxes,  accord- 
ing to  the  systems  in  vogue,  not  only  on  their  in- 
comes, but  on  everything  else  they  possess  as  well. 

If  I  buy  a  piece  of  land  or  city  property,  paying 
the  price  demanded,  I  still  continue  paying  for  it  so 
long  as  I  own  it.  If  I  build  a  home  and  pay  the 
cost  of  its  construction,  I  am  annually  taxed  for  it. 
If  I  buy  a  horse  or  a  watch,  a  piano,  or  books,  or 
anything  else,  I  never  succeed  in  paying  for  them, 
but  must  still  continue  to  settle  for  them  until  finally 
I  have  paid  their  original  value  over  again. 

Owing  to  the  fluctuation  of  financial  values,  few 
men's  income  is  annually  the  same.  It  is  so  much 
one  year,  so  much  the  next. 

Thus  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  value  of 
improved  property  may  be  as  fluctuating  and  un- 
certain as  that  of  unimproved  property  or  of  stocks 


TAXATION  15 

and  bonds.  Buildings  that  stand  vacant  during 
periods  of  financial  depression  are  of  no  more  value, 
for  the  time  being,  than  unimproved  property;  and 
men  should  not  be  forced  to  pay  taxes  on  that  which 
does  not  produce  an  income. 

Under  an  Income-tax  such  injustices  would  cease. 
A  man  would  pay  taxes  only  on  that  which  he  annu- 
ally earns. 

Again  with  an  Income-tax  the  rich  would  not  be 
favored  at  the  expense  of  the  poor  or  the  poor  at 
the  expense  of  the  rich.  The  poor,  and  those  earn- 
ing from  forty  to  sixty  dollars  a  month  are  citizens 
the  same  as  those  whose  incomes  amount  to  thousands 
annually.  The  responsibility  and  dignity  of  citizen- 
ship is  the  same  for  both,  and  the  current  expenses 
of  maintaining  the  State  should  fall,  in  like  pro- 
portion, on  all,  regardless  of  class  distinctions. 

"  An  Income-tax  .  .  .  has  several  specific  ad- 
vantages over  other  forms  of  taxes.  It  has  no  tend- 
ency to  disturb  prices.  Were  there  no  taxation  except 
on  Incomes,  and  were  all  Incomes  rightly  ascertained, 
the  prices  of  everything  would  be  just  as  if  there 
were  no  taxes  at  all.  Taxation  would  then  be  like 
the  atmosphere,  pressing  equally  on  all  points  and 
consciously  on  none."  It  is  ".  .  .  the  most  uni- 


16  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

form,  unfailing,  expansive,   and  responsive  to  con- 
trol, of  all  fiscal  expedients."  * 

"  It  may  be  said  that  while  general  personal  prop- 
erty taxes  become  worse  and  worse  the  longer  they 
exist,  wherever  a  rational  kind  of  Income-tax  has  been 
laid,  as  in  Switzerland,  Prussia,  and  England,  the 
longer  it  lasts  the  better  it  works,  and  the  more  gen- 
eral the  popular  approval.  It  is  the  only  way  in 
which  a  large  and  influential  and  even  rich  class  can 
be  made  to  bear  its  fair  share  of  taxes."  f 

This  is  the  only  true  and  just  Single-tax.  There 
should  be  no  other. 

The  opponents  of  an  Income-tax  assert  that  men 
will  not  declare  their  true  incomes.  Make  the  pen- 
alty for  falsely  declaring  one's  income  too  severe  to 
warrant  such  a  risk.  "  Men  are  not  so  isolated 
from  each  other  as  that  a  man's  neighbors  do  not 
know  pretty  well  the  general  amount  of  his  in- 
come." Heavy  fines  or  imprisonment  for  falsely 
declaring  one's  income  would  soon  bring  about  prac- 
tically correct  statements.  Or,  if  such  delinquencies 
remain  undiscovered  until  after  the  delinquent's 

'"Principles  of  Political  Economy":  Arthur  L.  Perry. 
t"An  Introduction  to  Political  Economy":  Richard  T.  Ely. 


TAXATION  17 

death,  the  State  can  confiscate  such  portion  of  his 
estate  as  will  reimburse  it  for  the  loss  sustained  by 
it  during  his  lifetime. 

But  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Income-tax 
may  become  just  as  burdensome  as  any  other  form 
of  taxation  if  its  rate  be  excessive,  preventing  the 
accumulation  of  wealth.  The  individual  has  as 
much  right  to  collect  dollars,  if  he  does  so  by  legiti- 
mate methods,  as  he  has  to  collect  postage  stamps. 
And  any  rate  of  taxation  that  interferes  with  this 
right  should  be  abolished. 

Naturally  a  people  adopting  an  Income-tax  cannot 
consistently  maintain  a  tariff-system  which,  though 
an  indirect  method  of  taxation,  nevertheless  amounts 
to  a  double  tax  on  all  articles  included  in  the  tariff. 

A  tariff-system  is  simply  a  device  of  the  rich,  finan- 
cial corporations,  and  those  in  power  for  compelling 
the  people  to  pay  them  enormous  profits  on  their 
articles  of  commerce.  The  home  industries  being 
protected  from  foreign  competition,  the  people  are 
not  only  forced  to  pay  the  tariff-tax,  but  twice  the 
amount  for  food-stuffs  and  articles  of  an  inferior 
quality. 

The  tariff-system  is  economically  unsound  because 
it  subsidizes  Capital  at  the  expense  of  Labor;  forc- 
ing the  wage-earner  to  pay  twice  the  amount  he  should 


i8  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

for  the  necessities  of  life,  and  thereby  reducing  his 
savings  as  well  as  his  plane  of  living  to  those  of 
his  fellow-laborer  abroad. 

This  is  a  downright  injustice  to  the  Public.  Just 
because  somebody  wishes  to  engage  in  some  com- 
mercial enterprise  is  no  reason  why  the  rest  of  the 
community  should  be  taxed  under  the  guise  of  tariffs 
in  order  that  he  should  reap  profits  at  the  expense 
of  the  Public.  An  industry  that  cannot  bear  the 
competition  of  the  world  deserves  no  encouragement. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  country  is  self-sustaining 
that  collects  its  revenues  from  imported  goods  or 
contracts  foreign  loans.  The  instant  a  country  is 
obliged  to  institute  a  tariff-system  on  imported  goods 
as  a  source  of  national  revenue,  or  is  forced  to  become 
indebted  to  another  country  for  the  amount  of  one 
penny,  that  country  is  bankrupt  and  non-sustaining. 

But  leaving  aside  as  immaterial  to  the  present  in- 
quiry the  methods  we  employ  in  levying  taxes,  the 
whole  question  of  taxation  resolves  itself  into  this : 
Man  may  institute  tariff-systems  and  levy  taxes  on 
the  creations  of  his  mind  and  hands  to  the  extent 
which  he  considers  himself  benefited  by  the  institu- 
tions such  revenues  sustain;  but  taxes  cannot  lawfully 
be  levied  on  the  things  which  lie  wholly  outside  his 
sphere  of  jurisdiction,  on  the  things  which,  according 


TAXATION  19 

to  the  universal  laws  of  being,  are  pre-existent,  self- 
sustaining,  and  independent  of  man's  laws  and  gov- 
ernments. 

The  instant  taxes  are  levied  on  man  or  animals, 
on  the  land  and  its  natural  resources,  they  become  a 
tribute  levied  on  man's  right  to  existence  on  Earth, 
a  supposition  that  is  contrary  to  the  law  of  life. 

If  a  man  cannot  pay  his  taxes  to-day,  the  land  is 
taken  from  him  and,  being  cut  off  from  the  initial 
sources  of  wealth,  he  becomes  a  homeless  wanderer 
on  the  face  of  the  Earth — an  outcast  in  the  Universe. 

Man's  right  to  birth,  life,  and  death  on  Earth  is, 
like  that  of  every  other  sentient  being,  a  divine  and 
eternal  one,  and  should  forever  remain  an  undisputed 
one. 

This  is  why  taxes  cannot  lawfully  be  levied  on 
man  or  animals,  on  land,  or  forests,  or  water,  or 
minerals,  for,  like  man,  they  are  part  and  parcel  of 
the  divine  scheme  of  creation,  necessary  to  his  ex- 
istence and  spiritual  development  within  the  terres- 
trial sphere  which  he  inhabits. 


Ill 

SOCIALISM.      ITS  FALLACY 

/~\F  all  the  reforms  offered  as  a  solution  to  the 
social  question,  the  "  Socialistic  Ideal  "  is  the 
most  radical. 

In  fact,  it  is  the  only  one  worthy  of  serious  con- 
sideration, but  if  put  into  practice,  it  would  result  in 
one  of  the  most  despotic  forms  of  government 
imaginable,  for  the  reason  that,  under  such  a  con- 
dition of  communal  division  of  labor,  no  one  would 
be  free. 

The  labor,  prompted  by  purely  unselfish  and 
philanthropic  motives,  and  performed  entirely  for 
the  good  of  the  community,  would,  nevertheless,  be 
compulsory  for  all. 

And  even  though  it  were  possible  for  all  to  agree 
concerning  the  division  of  labor,  pleasant  and  un- 
pleasant, and  as  to  its  usefulness,  the  individual 
would  still  be  a  slave  to  the  communal  laws. 

It  is  not  essential  now  to  consider  the  Socialist's 

assumption  that  physical  labor  should  be  placed  on 

20 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  21 

a  par  with  intellectual  labor;  that  the  man  who 
shovels  dirt  in  a  railroad  construction  gang  should 
command  the  same  reward  as  the  engineer  who  is 
responsible  for  building  the  road. 

A  half-witted  person  can  toss  dirt  with  a  shovel, 
but  could  he  construct  a  railroad? 

The  entire  socialistic  propaganda  is  reared  on  fal- 
lacies, the  chief  of  which  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is 
founded  upon  compulsory  labor,  and  like  all  forms 
of  government  that  are  maintained  by  the  powers 
of  coercion  must  inevitably  be  destroyed  by  the 
same  forces  within  them  by  which  they  are  up- 
held. 

The  same  powers  of  coercion  which  maintained 
the  ancient  Spartan  commonwealth  intact  were  the 
very  ones  that  wrecked  it. 

The  present  economic  slavery  of  mankind  is  bad 
enough  and  is  rapidly  becoming  intolerable  to  all 
thinking  persons;  but  with  the  establishment  of  the 
socialistic  regime  man  would  become  less  of  a  free 
agent  than  he  is  to-day.  And  not  without  reason  did 
the  late  Charles  Dudley  Warner  declare  that,  if  he 
had  to  decide  between  Bellamy's  socialistic  form  of 
government  and  Hell,  he  would  choose  the  latter; 
though  in  all  justice  to  Socialism  it  should  be  added 
that,  when  Warner  made  that  statement  he  seemed 


22  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

to  be  quite  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  he  was  already 
in  Hell. 

All  honor  to  Karl  Marx!  Let  no  man  under- 
estimate the  value  of  his  conception  of  the  ideal 
commonwealth,  the  magnitude  of  its  influence  upon 
our  times,  or  the  mighty  hold  it  has  taken  upon  the 
ranks  of  labor  throughout  the  nations  of  the  Earth. 

The  struggle  which  is  now  being  waged  between 
Capital  and  Labor,  the  proletariate  and  those  in 
power,  is  one  to  the  death.  And  let  no  man  deceive 
himself  by  imagining  that  this  mighty  struggle  of 
the  classes  will  cease  until  individual  control  of  the 
Earth's  natural  resources  has  been  annihilated — 
swept  from  the  Earth  forever. 

Socialism  maintains  that  monopoly  throughout  the 
world  is  inevitable — that  the  trusts  or  financial  syndi- 
cates must  either  soon  own  the  governments  and 
nations  of  the  world,  or  the  nations  own  the  trusts. 
That  the  whole  question  at  issue  is,  whether  the 
monopoly  of  the  means  necessary  to  sustain  life  and 
create  happiness  for  man  should  be  controlled  by 
private  individuals  who  think  solely  of  their  own 
welfare,  or  owned  and  controlled  by  the  nation. 

The  latter,  its  advocates  claim,  would  be  conducive 
to  not  only  the  greatest  happiness,  but  to  the  greatest 
amount  of  personal  liberty  as  well. 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  23 

But  would  the  individual's  freedom  be  preserved? 
Socialism  offers  man  every  material  luxury,  but  takes 
away  his  liberty. 

In  order  that  the  State  might  be  maintained,  every 
able-bodied  person  would  be  obliged  to  work  so  many 
hours  a  day  and  so  many  days  in  the  year. 

No  one  would  be  free  to  act  or  think,  to  come  or 
go  independently  of  his  neighbor,  to  rest  from  his 
prescribed  labor  or  leave  the  community  in  which 
he  dwelt,  without  the  permission  of  the  State. 

A  certain  number  of  free  days  each  year  would, 
no  doubt,  be  doled  out  to  the  individual  by  the  State 
under  penalty  of  the  loss  of  citizenship,  starvation, 
or  some  other  punishment,  if  he  failed  to  return  to 
his  work  the  hour  his  leave  of  absence  expired; 
just  as  to-day  an  employe  is  punished  by  the  loss  of 
his  position. 

It  is  true  that  enforced  competition  has  practically 
the  same  effect  to-day  on  all  those  who  are  without 
wealth  or  who  are  compelled  to  work  for  others. 
Nevertheless,  the  State  recognizes  man's  inviolable 
right  to  free  agency;  the  ideal  of  personal  liberty 
at  least  survives,  waiting  only  juster  economic  con- 
ditions to  become  a  reality.  But  this  Socialism  de- 
nies him. 

Without  enforced  labor  the  whole  fabric  of  mod- 


24  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

ern  Socialism  could  not  endure  for  a  day,  but  would 
collapse  like  a  house  of  cards  the  instant  work  ceased 
or  was  made  voluntary. 

These  are  the  two  rocks  on  which  the  ship  of 
State,  that  of  Socialism  as  well  as  that  of  present 
governments,  must  inevitably  shatter:  economic 
slavery  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  curtailing  of  per- 
sonal liberty  under  Socialism  on  the  other. 

Without  liberty  to  act,  to  go  and  come  at  will, 
there  can  be  neither  freedom  nor  happiness  for  the 
individual. 

True  Democracy  which  means  the  rule  of  the 
People — a  government  for  the  People  and  by  the 
People,  under  which  the  individual's  personal  liberty 
is  preserved — becomes  a  delusion  the  instant  labor 
is  economically  enslaved  or  individual  freedom  cur- 
tailed. Yet  this  is  precisely  what  will  happen  under 
the  modern  Socialist's  form  of  government  just  as 
it  is  happening  everywhere  in  the  world  to-day  under 
the  misrule  of  Capital. 

Nothing  can  compensate  for  the  loss  of  liberty. 
The  physical,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  development 
of  man  depends  solely  upon  his  freedom  to  act  and 
choose  as  his  conscience  and  reason  prompt  him. 

The  question  of  acquiring  a  livelihood  in  the  world 
should  be  purely  an  optional  one,  and  man  not  com- 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  25 

pelled  to  work  if  he  does  not  wish  to;  society  in- 
sisting only  that  the  individual  should  respect  and 
hold  sacred  the  life  and  property  of  his  neighbor — 
nothing  more. 

The  instant  we  go  beyond  this  step  in  human 
evolution  man  ceases  to  be  a  free  agent. 

To-day  the  Nations  of  the  Earth  are  enslaved  by 
Plutocracy,  the  few  in  power  representing  Capital, 
or  those  holding  more  than  their  rightful  share  of 
the  Earth's  natural  resources;  while  under  the  social- 
istic regime  the  People  would  deliberately  enslave 
themselves  by  depriving  the  individual  of  his  per- 
sonal liberty. 

Under  Socialism,  the  work  being  equally  dis- 
tributed, the  individual  would  possibly  not  be  obliged 
to  work  more  than  two  or  four  hours  a  day,  being 
at  liberty  to  dispose  of  the  remainder  of  his  time 
as  he  wished;  but  that  is  not  liberty — personal  free- 
dom. Two  hours  of  enforced  labor  bind  the  in- 
dividual to  a  locality  as  effectually  as  do  ten. 

He  would  be  as  much  the  slave  of  the  State 
as  was  the  Negro  of  the  South  before  the  Civil 
War,  or  the  Serfs  of  Russia  before  their  libera- 
tion. 

It  is  true  his  slavery  would  not  be  of  such  an 
antiquated  form,  but  of  a  more  liberal  character, 


26  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

like  that  of  the  Incas  of  Peru  whose  government 
was  overthrown  in  1533  by  Pizarro. 

Like  the  Incas  we  should  all  work  less  and  have 
enough  to  eat  and  so  many  hours  a  day  assured  us 
for  recreation,  but  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
would  be  a  sleek,  well-kept  slave  of  the  State,  like 
the  tame,  broken-spirited  drayhorse  which,  though 
well-fed  and  carefully  groomed,  is  nevertheless 
whipped  daily  into  the  traces. 

Paint  the  picture  drawn  by  the  advocates  of  mod- 
ern Socialism  as  rosy  as  you  please,  a  prison  trans- 
formed into  a  bower  of  roses  still  remains  a  prison 
if  its  bars  be  not  removed. 

What  chance  would  there  be  for  individuality  to 
develop  and  assert  itself  under  such  an  institution 
whose  object  will  not  be  to  fit  the  individual  for 
independent  action,  but  to  force  him  to  occupy  a 
certain  and  exact  place  in  the  mechanism  of  society? 

The  individual  will  be  obliged  to  think  and  act 
in  all  things  according  to  local  custom.  The  slight- 
est deviation  from  this  rule  will  be  viewed  with 
disfavor  by  the  community. 

Unusual  behavior,  oddities  of  character,  and  eccen- 
tricities of  genius  will  be  looked  upon  with  distrust. 
The  individual  will  be  under  the  constant  surveillance 
of  the  community. 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  27 

Privacy  will  eventually  cease  to  exist.  Nothing 
will  be  hidden;  everybody's  life  will  be  laid  bare  to 
communal  criticism. 

Such  communistic  despotism,  suppressing  person- 
ality by  forbidding  enterprise  and  condemning  vol- 
untary competition  as  a  public  offense,  means  nothing 
more  than  a  reversion  of  human  society  to  certain 
primitive  conditions;  practically  the  same  despotic 
form  of  self-government  with  modifications  which 
was  exercised  by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  Greeks, 
and  Romans,  and  which  still  exists  to-day  among 
the  Hindoos,  Chinese,  and  other  Oriental  com- 
munities. 

And  then  the  Socialist's  idea  of  compelling  society 
to  work  in  order  that  men  may  be  provided  with 
material  luxuries  which  they  do  not  actually  earn. 

Past  and  present  experiences  show  us  that  you 
may  provide  men  with  every  material  luxury  and 
advantage,  and  three-fourths  of  them  will  sit  down 
complacently  and  grow  fat,  while  the  remaining 
fourth,  with  no  advantage  at  all,  will  wear  itself 
lean  in  the  effort  to  satisfy  personal  pride  and  right- 
eous ambition. 

It  is  a  pretty  idea  that  my  sphere  of  action  should 
be  limited  by  being  held  to  one  spot  and  forced  to 
work  a  prescribed  number  of  hours  a  day  in  order 


28  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

that  I  should  feed  and  dress  my  neighbor  be- 
cause he  is  too  shiftless  and  indolent  to  do  it  him- 
self. 

This,  the  Socialist  claims,  is  the  individual's  pre- 
rogative; a  thing  as  nonsensical  as  it  is  illogical,  es- 
pecially when  the  initial  sources  of  all  wealth  have 
been  placed  equally  within  the  reach  of  all. 

It  is  perfectly  true  that  certain  individuals  inherit 
wealth  and  luxuries  to-day,  and  do  well  with  their 
inheritance,  but  this  is  an  exception,  not  the  common 
rule  of  life. 

There  have  been  bread-riots  in  history,  struggles 
for  the  mere  necessities  of  life,  but  it  is  not  the 
desire  for  luxuries  and  wealth  that  has  been  the 
cause  of  revolutions.  Trace  back  the  history  of 
human  development  to  the  remotest  past  and  it  will 
be  found  that  the  primal  cause  of  all  revolutions  has 
ever  been,  as  it  always  will  be,  the  struggle  for 
liberty. 

In  the  sweat  of  his  brow  shall  man  eat  his  bread, 
says  Nature.  That  is,  all  men  shall  have  an  equal 
chance  to  earn  their  bread;  but  no  man  is  entitled  to 
that  which  he  does  not  earn,  be  it  luxuries  or  his 
daily  bread. 

It  is  neither  governments  nor  a  share  in  profits 
that  men  want,  but  the  legitimate  use  of  that  amount 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  29 

of  land,  minerals,  wood,  and  water  which  is  the 
individual's  by  natural  right,  and  which  no  power 
on  Earth  is  going  to  prevent  him  from  having. 

This  is  the  handwriting  on  the  wall  which  con- 
fronts society  to-day. 

Again  experience  teaches  us  that  it  is  impossible, 
through  means  of  philanthropic  schemes,  to  impress 
the  individual  with  that  moral  responsibility  which 
man  should  bear  to  man. 

In  1907,  the  Labor  Party  introduced  a  Bill  *  into 
the  British  House  of  Commons  for  the  creation  of 
a  statutory  "  right  to  work." 

The  essential  clause  of  the  Bill  declares  that : 

"  Where  a  workman  has  registered  himself  as 
unemployed,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  local  unem- 
employment  authority  to  provide  work  for  him  in 
connection  with  one  or  other  of  the  schemes  herein- 
after provided,  or  otherwise,  or  failing  the  provision 
of  work,  to  provide  maintenance,  should  necessity 
exist,  for  that  person  and  for  those  depending  on  that 
person  for  the  necessities  of  life." 

"  To  most  people  these  proposals  will  seem  some- 
what startling.  That,  however,  is  only  because  we 

*  Defeated,  April,  1908. 


30  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

have  forgotten  the  follies  as  well  as  the  wisdom  of 
our  ancestors.  Similar  proposals  were  actually  em- 
bodied in  the  statute  law  of  England  more  than  three 
hundred  years  ago,  while  even  before  that  date 
voluntary  attempts  were  made  by  the  municipalities 
to  organize  work  for  the  unemployed. 

"As  early  as  1557  the  old  palace  of  Bridewell 
was  converted  into  an  institution  in  which  various 
industries  were  carried  on  by  men  who  could  not 
obtain  employment  elsewhere.  This  London  exam- 
ple was  followed  by  a  good  many  other  municipal- 
ities in  the  full  spirit  of  modern  municipal  social- 
ism. .  .  .  Yet  everybody  knows  that  the  system 
was  an  absolute  failure.  Instead  of  diminishing 
poverty,  it  added  to  the  numbers  and  to  the  degrada- 
tion of  the  poor.  .  .  . "  * 

Again,  "  early  in  the  year  1848  a  revolution  took 
place  in  France.  The  King  was  expelled,  and  a  re- 
publican government  was  established.  The  new  Gov- 
ernment was  inspired  by  socialistic  theories.  .  .  .*' 
On  February  26,  the  Government  proceeded  to  de- 
cree the  "  immediate  establishment  of  national  work- 
shops [ateliers  nationaux]." 

M.  Emile  Thomas  was  empowered  by  the  Min- 
istry to  provide  work  for  the  unemployed.  On 

*  Quarterly  Review,  1908 :  "  The  Right  to  Work." 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  31 

March  9  "  the  enrollment  of  the  first  3,000  men 
began  .  .  .  the  rates  of  pay  were  not  high.  The 
workers  received  2  francs  on  days  of  activity  and 
i  1-2  francs  on  days  of  inactivity;  the  squad  chiefs 
received  slightly  more,  and  the  brigadiers  received  3 
francs  a  day  whether  work  was  going  on  or  not. 
.  .  .  The  next  day  an  additional  1,200  men  ar- 
rived. .  .  .  On  March  15  M.  Thomas  had  14,000 
men  for  whom  to  find  employment. 

"  But  fresh  supplies  of  unemployed  continued  to 
arrive,  and  even  at  this  early  stage  it  was  discovered 
that  many  of  the  men  were  not  passionately  eager  to 
work. 

'  They  preferred  to  draw  i  1-2  francs  a  day  for 
inactivity,  rather  than  2  francs  for  doing  more  or 
less  hard  work.  To  meet  this  difficulty  the  inactivity 
pay  was  reduced  to  i  franc,  but  still  the  numbers  con- 
tinued to  grow.  Indeed  many  men  came  to  draw 
their  i  franc  as  unemployed,  and  then  quietly  went  off 
to  earn  their  living  in  their  ordinary  employment. 
Other  men  inscribed  themselves  in  several  different 
brigades  and  drew  pay  from  each.  ...  By  the  end 
of  April  this  number  had  risen  to  over  100,000,  and 
most  of  the  men  had  ceased  to  make  even  a  pretense 
of  working.  ...  At  last  the  situation  became  in- 
tolerable. An  insurrection  broke  out.  Before  it  was 


32  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

quelled,  3,000  persons  were  killed  and  3,376  insur- 
gents were  transported  to  Algeria.  That  was  the 
end  of  the  *  right  to  work '  under  the  French  Re- 
public of  1848. 

"  Both  in  the  metropolis  (London)  and  in  the 
provincial  boroughs  relief  works  have  been  fre- 
quently started  during  the  last  few  winters,  with  the 
result  that  the  money  of  the  ratepayer  has  been 
wasted,  and  the  number  of  the  unemployed  has  been 
increased.  Our  local  Government  Board  inspector 
reports  [Times,  Nov.  22,  1905]  that  in  the  prin- 
cipal towns  of  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire  the  con- 
ditions under  which  relief  works  have  been  estab- 
lished afford  every  likelihood  of  a  stereotyped  class 
of  men  being  evolved  who  will  be  content  to  live  on 
three  days'  work  a  week." 

Another  inspector  writes:  "Irregular  relief  work 
has  such  charms  that  numerous  instances  have  been 
noted  of  men  throwing  up  regular  wages  at  i8s.  and 
195.  a  week  to  earn  from  55.  to  75.  in  a  stone-yard." 

In  the  case  of  the  Manchester  and  Salford  relief 
works  it  is  reported:  "  Many  men  under  a  labor  test 
left  their  work  and  forfeited  the  day's  relief  in 
order  to  join  a  procession  of  the  unemployed.  ..." 

What  incentive  to  legitimate  progress  and  enter- 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  33 

prise  could  there  possibly  be  with  every  man's  finger 
in  every  man's  pie,  with  the  common  man  enthroned 
and  reigning  supreme  and  the  whole  world  hearken- 
ing to  his  dictates? 

Socialism  will  curtail  man's  energies  and  debase 
the  quality  of  all  articles  of  use  and  consumption 
the  same  as  do  our  Trades  Unions  of  to-day  by  re- 
ducing our  supreme  ethical  standards  to  those  of 
mediocrity,  for  the  reason,  that  those  whose  souls 
run  on  the  dead  level  cannot  be  aroused  to  a  just 
appreciation  of  that  which  is  highest  in  art,  science, 
and  religion,  that  which  makes  most  toward  human 
development. 

Let  it  not  be  inferred  that  we  refer  to  the  common 
man  at  the  bottom  of  the  social  strata,  but  the  com- 
mon man  who  permeates  all  classes  of  society,  and 
who,  if  maintained  in  his  position  and  permitted  to 
dominate,  must  inevitably  reduce  society  to  his  level. 

This  inequality  of  capacity  possessed  by  individuals 
renders  an  equal  development  impossible.  This  is 
daily  demonstrated  to  us  by  our  school  children,  the 
majority  of  whom  cannot  be  developed  artificially  or 
otherwise  beyond  a  certain  point — the  commonplace 
standards  of  life. 

Does  a  fruit  tree  bear  equally  well  each  year? 
Supply  it  with  artificial  stimulants  and  hedge  it  about 


34  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

with  glass,  and  it  will  produce  annually  a  beautiful 
fruit  to  look  at,  but  an  insipid  one. 

The  same  with  the  inventor  and  genius.  To-day 
he  creates,  to-morrow  his  mind  lies  fallow.  Days, 
weeks,  months,  a  year  may  p?<^  during  which  he  does 
nothing  but  wander  in  the  Elysian  fields  of  his  imagi- 
nation, preferring  want  to  comfort. 

Put  him  to  work,  set  a  time  limit  to  his  creative 
faculties,  or  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  God-given 
privilege  of  exercising  his  own  sweet  will,  and  you 
will  destroy  the  ripe,  mature  fruit  of  his  imagination ; 
the  best  that  is  in  him,  his  gift  to  the  race — human- 
ity's priceless  treasure. 

Is  it  within  the  hedged  lanes  of  popular  approval, 
or  on  the  broad  expanse  of  the  wild,  unsullied  fields 
of  freedom  that  we  might  reasonably  look  for  a 
Homer,  a  Plato,  an  ^Eschylus,  a  Shakespeare,  a 
Whitman,  a  Goethe,  a  Beethoven,  or  a  Darwin ;  those 
rare  flowers  of  the  human  race  that  bloom  but  once? 

Had  the  State  attached  the  red  tape  of  authority 
to  Dante,  Hafiz,  Moliere,  Ruskin,  Browning,  Kant, 
Gauss,  Tyndall,  Mill,  what  would  have  been  the 
inevitable  result?  Some  prettily  bound  nursery 
rhymes  suitable  only  for  Christmas  gifts  to  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  jeune  files  of  the  community. 

Of  whom  does  humanity  take  most  account?    Of 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  35 

popular,  virtuous  citizen  Jones  who  lives  according 
to  the  ideals  of  the  common  man  and  dies  smothered 
amid  lilies  and  laurels  of  a  local  growth,  the  tokens 
of  popular  esteem,  or  the  wicked  Socrates  who  drank 
the  hemlock  administered  by  the  common  man  ? 

Who  crucified  the  Christ,  permitted  Nero  to  fire 
Rome,  burned  the  Alexandrian  Library,  and  lit  the 
fagots  that  consumed  Joan  of  Arc  and  Giordano 
Bruno?  Who  is  responsible  for  the  Inquisition,  the 
enslavement  of  the  Negro,  or  the  persecution  of  the 
Jews  in  Russia  to-day?  The  common  man. 

Uphold  and  encourage  him,  and  Pizarro  and 
Cortez  set  sail  with  their  rabble  hordes  of  adven- 
turers, free-booting  priests,  and  blackguards,  and  de- 
stroy two  civilizations  superior  to  any  which  White 
men  of  their  day  possessed. 

Place  him  in  power  and  maintain  him  in  his  posi- 
tion, and  he  fixes  the  debasing  system  of  Caste  upon 
India,  and  reduces  the  population  of  China  to  its 
present  besotted  social  condition  by  making  the  adop- 
tion and  practice  of  Ancestor-worship  compulsory  for 
its  people. 

But  the  common  man  is  becoming  enlightened, 
answers  the  Socialist.  Is  he?  The  representatives 
of  Socialism  and  Organized  Labor  unhesitatingly  de- 
stroy the  lives  and  property  of  those  who  refuse  to 


36  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

entertain  their  views  whenever  the  opportunity  per- 
mits, just  as  do  the  advocates  of  present  conditions — 
the  monopolization  of  the  Earth's  natural  resources. 

The  same  powers  of  coercion  which  Mohammed 
employed  to  establish  and  maintain  his  kingdom,  the 
Koran  or  the  sword,  the  common  man  employs 
to-day. 

The  common  man  of  Socialism  is  quite  as  much 
to  be  dreaded  as  the  common  man  of  the  past  and 
the  present. 

The  great  difficulty  lies  in  our  inability  to  dis- 
tinguish the  common  man;  for  usually  the  superman 
of  to-day  is  deplorably  common  in  the  eyes  of  the 
succeeding  generation. 

But  supposing  this  not  to  be  true,  the  effects  which 
Socialism  would  have  upon  mankind  must  inevitably 
result  in  something  equally  disastrous  to  the  human 
race,  namely, — the  survival  of  the  weaker  members 
of  society,  not  of  the  fit. 

For  when  the  value  and  necessity  of  strength, 
physical  strength,  mental  strength,  and  force  of  char- 
acter shall  have  been  withdrawn,  and  the  leveling 
process  shall  demand  and  result  in  no  development 
of  individual  self-reliance,  then  truly  the  progress  of 
the  human  race  shall  have  ceased. 

Nature  never  makes  a   mistake.     By  harsh  en- 


SOCIALISM—ITS  FALLACY  37 

vironment  and  the  struggle  for  existence,  Nature's 
law  tends  toward  the  development  of  the  unfit  and 
the  weak  into  the  fit  and  the  strong  provided  there 
is  any  capacity  for  development. 

The  whole  tendency  of  Socialism  is  at  variance 
with  this  great  underlying  principle  of  life,  for,  con- 
trary to  its  claims,  Socialism  would  arrest  human 
development. 

Life  under  Socialism  would  not  only  cease  to  call 
forth  the  best  energies,  and  thus  fail  to  develop  the 
unfit,  but  by  making  no  peremptory  demand  upon 
even  the  fit,  the  premium  put  upon  strength  and  capa- 
bility would  lapse,  and  growth  would  cease.  For 
the  logical  and  inevitable  result  of  the  introduction 
of  a  false  principle  into  human  society  would  be  the 
steady  deterioration  and  retrogression  of  the  strong- 
est and  most  fit. 

Even  Jack  London,  who  is  perhaps  the  ablest  of 
the  younger  advocates  of  modern  Socialism,  admits 
this. 

"  And  in  that  day,  for  better  or  for  worse,"  says 
London,  "  the  common  man  becomes  the  master — for 
better,  he  believes.  It  is  his  intention  to  make  the 
sum  of  human  happiness  far  greater.  No  man  shall 
work  for  a  bare  living  wage,  which  is  degradation. 


38  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Every  man  shall  have  work  to  do,  and  shall  be  paid 
exceedingly  well  for  doing  it.  There  shall  be  no 
slum  classes,  no  beggars.  Nor  shall  there  be  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  men  and  women  condemned, 
for  economic  reasons,  to  lives  of  celibacy  or  sexual 
infertility.  Every  man  shall  be  able  to  marry,  to 
live  in  healthy,  comfortable  quarters,  and  to  have 
all  he  wants  to  eat  as  many  times  a  day  as  he  wishes. 
There  shall  no  longer  be  a  life-and-death  struggle  for 
food  and  shelter.  The  old  heartless  law  of  develop- 
ment shall  be  annulled.  All  of  which  is  very  good 
and  very  fine. 

"  And  when  these  things  have  come  to  pass,  what 
then?  Of  old,  by  virtue  of  their  weakness  and  in- 
efficiency in  the  struggle  for  food  and  shelter,  the 
race  was  purged  of  its  weak  and  inefficient  members. 

"  But  this  will  no  longer  obtain.  Under  the  new 
order  the  weak  and  the  progeny  of  the  weak  will 
have  a  chance  for  survival  equal  to  that  of  the  strong 
and  the  progeny  of  the  strong.  This  being  so,  the 
premium  upon  strength  will  have  been  withdrawn, 
and  on  the  face  of  it  the  average  strength  of  each 
generation,  instead  of  continuing  to  rise,  will  begin 
to  decline. 

"  When  the  common  man's  day  shall  have  arrived, 
the  new  social  institutions  of  that  day  will  prevent 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  39 

the  weeding  out  of  weakness  and  inefficiency.  All, 
the  weak  and  the  strong,  will  have  an  equal  chance 
for  procreation.  And  the  progeny  of  all,  of  the 
weak  as  well  as  the  strong,  will  have  an  equal  chance 
for  survival. 

'  This  being  so,  and  if  no  new  effective  law  of  de- 
velopment be  put  into  operation,  then  progress  must 
ceasey  And  not  only  progress,  for  deterioration 
would  at  once  set  in. 

"  It  is  a  pregnant  problem.  What  will  be  the 
nature  of  this  new  and  most  necessary  law  of  de- 
velopment? Can  the  common  man  pause  long 
enough  from  his  undermining  labor  to  answer? 
Since  he  is  bent  upon  dragging  down  the  bourgeoisie 
and  reconstructing  society,  can  he  so  reconstruct  that 
a  premium,  in  some  unguessed  way  or  other,  will 
still  be  laid  upon  the  strong  and  the  efficient  so  that 
the  human  type  will  continue  to  develop?  Can  the 
common  man,  or  the  uncommon  men  who  are  allied 
with  him,  devise  such  a  law?  Or  have  they  already 
devised  one?  And  if  so,  what  is  it?  "  * 

We  need  only  look  about  us  for  the  answer.  Na- 
ture has  answered  the  question  from  the  beginning 
and  for  all  time. 

*  "  War  of  the  Classes,"  pp.  261-278,  1905. 


40  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Creation's  scheme  only  allows  for  the  survival  of 
the  fittest;  the  physically  and  mentally  fit;  not  solely 
the  physically  fit.  The  purely  physically  fit  are  quite 
as  unfit  as  the  purely  mentally  fit;  what  the  one  lacks 
mentally,  the  other  lacks  physically;  both  are  wanting 
in  poise. 

Look  at  primitive  peoples  and  wild  animals  in 
their  natural  state,  sharing  all  things  in  common. 
Which  members  survive  and  dominate — the  physi- 
cally or  mentally  fit?  Neither.  It  is  the  average 
mentally  and  physically  fit;  those  possessing  the  aver- 
age physical  and  mental  poise;  the  fit  product  of  a 
fit  condition. 

We  are  the  unfit  product  of  our  unfit  conditions. 
And  the  great  unfit  majority  of  society  must  continue 
to  dominate  so  long  as  we  maintain  such  conditions, 
the  same  as  it  will  under  the  artificial,  unfit  conditions 
of  Socialism. 

Is  this  clear?  A  fit  race  of  men  can  only  spring 
from  natural  conditions;  an  unfit,  from  artificial  con- 
ditions. 

Nature  placed  all  things  within  the  reach  of  men 
to  enjoy  and  share  in  common  the  same  as  she  did 
for  the  individual  members  of  the  animal  and  vege- 
table kingdoms,  allowing  the  weak  and  the  unfit  an 
opportunity  to  develop  into  the  strong  and  the  fit. 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  41 

But  man,  by  disregarding  this  natural  law  and 
natural  distribution  of  the  means  of  sustenance,  has 
placed  the  two  minorities  of  society,  the  weak  and 
the  fit,  at  the  mercy  of  the  great  unfit  dominant 
majority. 

The  human  type,  like  the  animal  and  vegetable 
types,  can  only  develop  naturally  in  conditions  of 
freedom. 

The  requirements  essential  to  future  human  de- 
velopment are  far  greater  than  those  dreamed  of  by 
Karl  Marx  when  he  penned  his  famous  volume — 
11  Das  Kapital." 

The  different  forms  of  life  inhabiting  the  terrestrial 
sphere  to-day  were  perfected  in  conditions  of  free- 
dom, not  in  those  of  restraint. 

Nature  makes  no  distinction,  shows  no  preference. 
All,  both  the  weak  and  the  strong,  are  given  a  chance 
to  survive  and  thrive  their  alloted  time  within  their 
proper  spheres  according  to  their  capacity  for  en- 
durance and  development. 

The  rigors  of  Nature  and  the  efforts  necessitated 
by  the  struggle  for  food  and  shelter  will  continue 
either  to  eliminate,  or  develop  the  weaker  members 
of  society  into  the  fit  in  the  future  just  as  they  have 
in  the  past,  provided  natural  conditions  prevail;  and 
this  is  as  it  should  be. 


42  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Let  no  man  deceive  himself  by  imagining  that 
governmental  control  of  a  human  soul  will  be  any 
more  beneficial  to  mankind,  or  easier  to  bear  than 
that  of  the  individual's  control  of  a  human  soul  as 
it  is  exercised  by  society  to-day. 

True  Socialism  has  for  its  object  the  elevation 
of  mankind  to  that  state  of  civic  dignity  in  which 
the  individual's  right  to  life  and  liberty  is  universally 
recognized  and  held  sacred  by  society;  and  without 
which  there  can  be  no  natural  development  of  the 
human  race. 

The  slavery  of  the  enforced  labor  of  Socialism  is 
not  the  remedy  for  the  economic  slavery  to  which 
man  is  subjected  to-day. 

All  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  life,  history, 
and  traditions  of  primitive  peoples,  know  that  the 
spiritual  development  of  certain  tribes  of  North 
American  Indians  and  Bedouins  of  Africa  and  Asia, 
before  their  contact  with  the  White  races  of  western 
Europe,  surpassed  that  of  the  so-called  civilized  na- 
tions of  to-day;  which  goes  to  prove  that  competition, 
constant  labor,  and  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  or 
material  progress,  are  not  essential  to  man's  spiritual 
development. 

The  most  striking  example  of  this  independence 
of  spiritual  development  on  the  part  of  man  is  clearly 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  43 

illustrated  by  the  fact  that  the  savage  and  the  Mes- 
siah, representing  the  two  extremes  of  the  human 
family,  meet  face  to  face  on  a  material  footing  of 
equality. 

The  one,  the  undeveloped,  the  other,  the  mentally 
and  spiritually  mature  representative  of  the  human 
race;  and  both  content  with  but  that  portion  of  the 
material  things  of  this  world  which  are  necessary  for 
the  maintenance  of  life. 

And  this  truth,  when  more  thoroughly  analyzed, 
leads  to  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  man  was 
originally  endowed  with  a  birthright,  or  free  heritage 
sufficient  to  sustain  life,  rendering  the  spiritual  ad- 
vancement of  man  as  natural  and  rational  as  that  of 
his  physical  development.  That  he,  like  the  animals 
when  in  a  natural  state,  recognizes  the  individual's 
right  to  that  portion  of  the  Earth's  natural  resources 
which  are  essential  to  the  supplying  of  his  daily 
wants. 

This  is  man's  inherent  right,  and  although  the 
much  dreamed  of  spiritual  equality  of  the  human 
race  as  a  whole  can  never  be  realized,  the  demand 
that  the  Earth's  natural  resources  should  be  equally 
accessible  to  all  is  not  only  a  justifiable,  but  a  peremp- 
tory one. 

This  natural  footing  of  material  equality  has  been 


44  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

man's  from  the  beginning,  and  is  the  most  sacred  of 
earthly  trusts  bestowed  upon  him  by  Nature.  A 
birthright  which  should  not  only  be  held  inviolable, 
but  whose  recognition  on  the  part  of  man  should 
come  before  all  his  institutions. 

But  why  should  men  compete  at  all  for  a  living, 
especially  when  the  Earth  is  large  enough  to  nourish 
the  entire  human  race  from  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  alone? 

"  Competition  in  its  modern  sense  develops  the 
baser,  not  the  higher  qualities,  when  men  or  beasts 
require  to  compete  fiercely  for  a  living.  What  they 
develop  are  the  tooth  and  claw  and  the  fighting  in- 
stincts. To  be  successful  in  business  a  man  must 
trample  the  Golden  Rule  under  foot." 

It  is  not  the  struggle  and  strife  of  competition, 
but  love  for  his  fellowman,  leisure,  and  liberty,  which 
are  the  chief  incentives  that  prompt  men  to  mental 
and  spiritual  activity,  to  a  higher,  clearer  conception 
of  their  relationship  to  one  another,  to  God,  and  to 
the  Universe. 

The  rational  solution  of  the  social  question  is 
neither  modern  Socialism  nor  schemes  of  government, 
nor  taxation,  but  a  natural  condition  of  life  in  which 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  45 

man's  freedom  and  independence  are  assured,  the 
land,  minerals,  wood,  and  water  equally  accessible 
to  all,  and  competition  voluntary,  not  compulsory; 
rendering  the  acquiring  of  a  livelihood  purely  one 
of  moderate  industrial  effort  on  the  part  of  the  in- 
dividual. 

With  the  possibility  of  gaining  a  livelihood  as- 
sured to  every  man,  the  opportunity  to  work  and 
properly  feed  and  clothe  himself  and  his  family,  the 
present  fierceness  of  enforced  competition  would  sub- 
side, and  voluntary  competition  take  its  place.  And 
we  should  then  have  neither  enforced  competition 
nor  enforced  labor,  but  freedom  in  both. 

With  such  a  natural  footing  of  material  equality 
to  stand  upon,  man  need  have  no  fear  of  the  future; 
for  no  one  in  possession  of  his  physical  and  mental 
vigor  could  possibly  suffer  want  if  moderately  in- 
dustrious. 

Free  the  Earth's  natural  resources  by  limiting  the 
individual's  use  of  them,  and  all  forms  of  monopoly 
can  be  easily  reduced  to  the  normal  growth  and  ex- 
pansion of  trade  and  industry  by  the  natural  laws 
of  competition. 

The  advantages  resulting  from  such  conditions 
would  be  infinite  and  far-reaching. 

All  branches  of  industry,  science,  and  art,  being 


46  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

limited  to  their  normal  growth,  success  in  every  call- 
ing in  life,  so  far  as  the  amassing  of  wealth  is  con- 
cerned, would  depend  upon  the  quality  of  the  work. 

A  comfortable  living  would  be  assured  to  all;  not 
only  to  the  farmer,  but  to  everyone  engaged  in  the 
legitimate  pursuits  of  trade  and  industry,  of  science, 
and  art,  enabling  each  to  accumulate  wealth  accord- 
ing to  his  intelligence  and  thrift. 

There  would  be  no  accumulation  of  wealth  by 
single  individuals  at  the  expense  of  the  Public;  there 
would  be  few  adulterations  and  imitations  of  food- 
stuffs and  articles  of  use,  for  the  land,  wood,  water, 
and  minerals,  the  initial  sources  of  wealth,  being  free 
and  equally  accessible  to  all,  the  laws  of  competition 
would  incite  and  call  forth  the  best  efforts  on  the 
part  of  man,  compelling  the  individual  who  hoped 
for  success  in  his  particular  calling  in  life  to  produce 
nothing  but  the  best. 

This  is  the  Communistic  Ideal;  the  condition  which 
we  should  create,  or  rather  man's  natural  condition 
to  which  we  should  revert. 

According  to  the  universal  law  governing  life  on 
Earth,  man  is  subjected  only  to  that  small  amount 
of  labor  necessary  to  sustain  life.  Beyond  this,  all 
individual  effort  on  the  part  of  man,  if  natural,  is 
voluntary,  not  enforced. 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  47 

But  why,  we  repeat,  should  men  consider  competi- 
tion so  necessary  to  progress  since  leisure  is  essential 
to  human  happiness  and  development? 

If  every  man,  woman,  and  child  on  the  face  of 
the  Earth  to-day  spent  half  their  time  in  recreation 
there  would  be  less  grabbing  and  fewer  schemes  of 
monopoly  hatched  throughout  the  world;  and  in  their 
stead  there  would  result  a  vast  amount  of  original 
thought. 

"  The  toiling  farmer  who  works  year  after  year 
from  early  dawn  until  dark,  and  thinks  work  the 
greatest  virtue  in  the  world,  is  often  a  mass  of  bony 
knobs  and  rheumatism  at  fifty  ";  or  the  merchant,  or 
financier  who  passes  year  after  year  in  his  office  until 
youth  and  the  joys  of  life  have  slipped  away  with 
the  years,  awakes  to  the  grand  realities  of  life  when 
it  is  too  late.  Labor  for  material  gain  ceases  to  be 
a  virtue  beyond  such  time  bestowed  upon  the  acquisi- 
tion of  a  livelihood. 

Man  being  exactly  suited  to  the  physical  conditions 
of  his  surroundings,  a  material  footing  of  equality 
a  priori  is  as  natural  and  quite  as  much  in  accord  with 
the  existing  order  of  things  to-day  as  it  was  in  the 
past. 

A  natural  division  of  the  Earth's  resources  is  not 
only  possible,  but  has  become  a  necessity  if  the  future 


48  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

development  of  the  human  race  is  to  continue.  But 
in  order  that  such  a  condition  may  become  lasting, 
granting  freedom  to  the  individual  and  to  the  race, 
it  must  be  sustained  by  natural  laws,  not  by  man-made 
laws. 

Society  cannot  be  permanently  reorganized  by 
means  of  human  schemes. 

Law-givers  like  Lycurgus,  Confucius,  Moses, 
Solon,  Caesar,  and  Mohammed  tried  it  and  failed; 
but  the  two  greatest  social  reformers  known  to  his- 
tory, Buddha  and  Christ,  recognized  this  fact,  and 
did  not  attempt  it,  for  they  knew  that  it  was  not 
only  impossible  but  quite  unnecessary;  the  material  or 
physical  conditions  essential  to  its  reorganization 
being  already  provided  by  Nature,  rendering  man's 
existence  quite  independent  of  his  schemes. 

Were  it  not  so,  the  universal  scheme  of  life  and 
growth,  of  human  evolution,  would  be  for  naught. 

Now  science  offers  two  solutions  to  a  problem : 
a  natural  one  and  an  artificial  one. 

If  a  condition  be  controlled  by  a  natural  law,  the 
true  solution  of  the  problem  must  be  a  natural  one. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  no  natural  law  exists  control- 
ling it,  science  offers  an  artificial  solution. 

Modern  Socialism,  or  Karl  Marx's  conception  of 
the  Ideal  Commonwealth,  though  highly  scientific  in 


SOCIALISM— ITS  FALLACY  49 

one  sense  of  the  term,  is,  nevertheless,  the  artificial 
solution  of  the  social  problem,  and,  therefore,  the 
wrong  one. 

The  natural  solution  was  provided  by  Nature  from 
time  immemorial,  and  like  all  of  Nature's  laws,  is 
a  simple  one,  namely, — that  the  Earth  is  large  enough 
to  nourish  the  entire  human  race,  including  its  normal 
increase,  from  the  soil  alone,  without  other  effort  on 
the  part  of  man  than  that  necessitated  by  the  mere 
tilling  of  the  soil. 

But  no  man  should  be  allowed  more  than  that  por- 
tion of  the  Earth's  natural  resources  which  is  neces- 
sary for  his  support,  or  well-being. 

Without  this  requisite  to  human  development  man 
never  could  have  become  a  free  agent,  but  must  have 
remained  the  bondsman  of  his  artificial  schemes  and 
inventions — the  most  unscientific  thing  imaginable: 
a  scheme  of  things  quite  as  unscientific  and  unnatural 
and  ridiculous,  as  it  would  be  to  imagine  man  exist- 
ing in  a  universe  illumined  by  a  light  of  his  own 
invention,  not  by  that  of  the  sun  and  the  stars. 

It  would  be  the  most  astounding,  overwhelming, 
and  crushing  fact  known  to  man  were  it  proved  that 
his  existence  on  Earth  is  dependent  on  some  one 
of  his  idiotic  schemes  of  government. 

The  very  fact  of  man's  existence,  which  is  the 


50  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

one  supreme  fact  of  the  Universe,  so  far  as  man  is 
concerned,  should  be  sufficient  to  convince  him  that 
all  natural  necessities  of  life  were,  and  still  are,  pro- 
vided for  him,  else  there  could  have  been  no  logical 
reason  for  his  coming  into  consciousness  of  being. 


IV 

THE  LAND.      ITS  DISTRIBUTION 

COCIETY  in  its  most  civilized  or  highly  developed 
state,  being  merely  an  elaboration  or  refined  con- 
dition of  society  in  its  primitive  state,  a  further  de- 
velopment of  mankind  necessitate-  a  return  to  first 
principles  on  the  part  of  man  if  his  higher  evolution 
is  to  continue  along  natural  lines. 

Hence  the  paramount  issue  of  both  political  econ- 
omy and  future  human  development  resolves  itself 
into  the  one,  namely:  What  amount  of  the  Earth's 
natural  resources  can  safely  be  adopted  as  a  perma- 
nent unit  upon  which  to  reconstruct  society,  securing 
not  only  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  fireside, 
but  the  good  already  attained  by  present  civilization, 
and  the  freedom  of  the  individual  as  well? 

The  first  consideration  in  human  development  be- 
ing always  that  of  the  food  supply,  it  will  be  seen 
that  this  question  is  concerned  solely  with  natural 
laws  and  conditions,  with  the  basal  principles  of  the 
productivity  of  the  soil. 

51 


52  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

It  was  never  intended  that  the  Earth's  natural 
resources  should  become  merchandise,  but  being 
originally  given  to  man  to  enjoy  in  common,  the  in- 
dividual is  as  much  entitled  to  his  natural  or  free 
portion  of  them  as  he  is  to  the  sunshine  and  the  air 
he  breathes. 

The  true  title  to  land  lies  not  in  ownership,  but 
in  occupancy.  And,  furthermore,  that  title  of  occu- 
pancy is  limited  by  natural  law  to  the  amount  re- 
quired to  sustain  life  comfortably — no  more. 

Such  an  amount  is  man's  birthright,  and  every 
human  being  is  entitled  to  his  natural  portion  of 
arable  land  to  be  held  by  him  in  peaceable  possession 
so  long  as  he  chooses,  provided  he  utilizes  it  for  pas- 
toral or  some  other  useful  purpose. 

If,  however,  he  makes  use  of  only  a  part  of  his 
natural  or  lawful  allotment,  then  the  part  utilized 
is  all  that  he  can  control  because  it  is  all  that  is 
necessary  for  his  maintenance. 

In  England,  Germany,  France,  Holland,  and  the 
Low  Countries,  five  to  thirty  acres  of  arable  land 
are  to-day  considered  ample  for  the  support  of  the 
husbandman  and  his  family;  while  in  the  United 
States,  the  homestead-law  fixes  the  limit  of  individual 
pre-emption  of  public  lands  to  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres. 


THE  LAND— ITS  DISTRIBUTION      53 

Just  why  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  were  con- 
sidered essential  by  the  United  States  Government 
for  the  maintenance  of  those  living  directly  upon 
the  produce  of  the  soil  is  not  clear.  There  is  cer- 
tainly no  logical  argument  for  such  a  division,  which 
is  evidently  not  the  result  of  scientific  experiment  and 
investigation,  but  of  that  prodigal  liberality  with 
which  the  Government  dispensed  its  bounties  during 
the  early  stages  of  its  development. 

According  to  the  most  reliable  agricultural  and 
economic  statistics  the  world  over,  from  three  to  ten 
acres  of  average  arable  land  are  known  to  be  adequate 
for  supplying  the  wants  of  the  individual  and  the 
family  devoted  to  the  pursuits  of  husbandry;  supply- 
ing them  not  only  with  a  comfortable  livelihood  if 
they  are  moderately  industrious,  but  also  permitting 
them  to  lay  by  a  certain  sum  annually  according  to 
their  thrift. 

Ten  acres  may  appear  an  absurdly  small  amount 
to  those  who  to-day  are  permitted  to  hold  as  their 
own  vast  tracts  of  land,  but  statistics  prove  that  ten 
acres  of  arable  land  is  a  very  generous  portion  of 
the  Earth's  surface  to  consign  to  the  undisputed  con- 
trol of  the  individual. 

The  acquiring  of  a  livelihood  is  not  the  accumula- 
tion of  wealth.  The  office  of  the  soil  is  to  yield  a 


54  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

man  a  living,  not  riches.  The  latter,  according  to 
natural  law,  can  only  be  acquired  legitimately 
through  the  emanations  and  creations  of  the  mind 
and  the  hands. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  it  became  a  necessity,  not 
ten,  but  five  acres  of  arable  land  are  quite  sufficient 
for  the  support  of  the  average  family  consisting  of 
five  persons;  an  acre  per  capita. 

It  was  a  common  custom  among  the  ancient  Per- 
sians and  Egyptians,  Greeks,  Romans,  and  Phoeni- 
cians, to  allot  two  acres  of  land  per  man  to  re- 
tired soldiers  and  petty  state  officials  from  which 
to  sustain  themselves  through  agricultural  pur- 
suits. 

"  The  ancients,"  says  Pliny,  "  were  of  opinion, 
that,  above  all  things,  the  extent  of  farms  ought  to 
be  kept  within  proper  bounds.  Wherefore  it  was  a 
maxim  amongst  them,  to  sow  less  and  plow  better  "; 
to  which  pithy  utterance  let  us  add  the  words  of  the 
Roman  Columella  who  also  advocated  moderation  in 
the  size  of  farms. 

"  To  other  precepts,"  says  he,  "  we  add  this, 
which  one  of  the  seven  wise  men  has  pronounced  as 
a  maxim  that  holds  true  in  all  ages,  that  there  ought 
to  be  limits  and  measures  of  things;  and  this  ought 


THE  LAND— ITS  DISTRIBUTION      55 

to  be  understood,  as  applied  not  only  to  those  that 
do  any  other  business,  but  also  those  that  buy  land, 
that  they  may  not  buy  more  than  they  are  fully  able 
for.  To  this  is  applicable  the  famous  sentence  of 
our  poet.  You  may  admire  a  large  farm,  but  culti- 
vate a  small  one;  which  ancient  precept  this  most 
learned  man  (Virgil),  .  .  .  expresses  in  numbers. 
This,  too,  is  agreeable  to  an  acknowledged  maxim 
of  the  Carthaginians,  a  very  acute  nation,  That  the 
land  ought  to  be  weaker  than  the  husbandman;  for, 
when  they  struggle  together,  should  the  farm  prevail, 
the  master  must  be  ruined.  And,  indeed,  there  is  no 
doubt,  that  a  small  field  well  cultivated  produces 
more  than  a  large  field  ill  cultivated." 

In  the  Province  of  Samara,  Russia,  to-day,  it  is 
estimated  that  over  four  hundred  thousand  persons 
get  their  subsistence  from  less  than  three  acres  of 
land  per  capita. 

According  to  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Green,  the  Empire 
of  Japan,*  "  containing  an  approximate  area  of  162,- 
ooo  square  miles,  of  which  only  15.7  per  cent  is 
arable,  supports  a  population  of  upward  of  50,000,- 
ooo.  Of  the  50,000,000  inhabitants  over  60  per 
cent  are  farmers  and  their  families,  the  average 

*  Hampton's  Magazine,  Sept.,  1909. 


56  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

amount  of  land  tilled  by  each  family  being  seven 
tan  (about  one  and  three-quarter  acres)." 

The  North  American  Indian  was  guided  by  a 
natural  law  when  he  permitted  individual  members 
of  the  tribe  to  cultivate  a  few  acres  of  land  whenever 
they  chose  to  do  so. 

They  did  not  actually  possess  the  land;  their  tenure 
of  the  land  was  only  respected  so  long  as  they  culti- 
vated it. 

They  were  not  permitted  to  dispose  of  it  to  anyone; 
not  even  to  members  of  the  family,  nor  bequeath  it 
as  a  heritage.  The  instant  they  ceased  to  cultivate 
it,  the  land  fell  free  to  the  people  once  more.* 

This  custom  was  also  practiced  to  a  limited  extent 
by  the  early  Norsemen,  Celts,  Teutons,  and  Slavic 
nations,  and  is  still  practiced  by  all  primitive  people 
who  have  not  been  forced  by  stronger  nations  to 
relinquish  their  ancient  customs  and  inherent  rights. 

"  I  believe,"  says  Emerson,  "  in  a  spade  and  an 
acre  of  good  ground.  Whoso  cuts  a  straight  path 
to  his  own  living  by  the  help  of  God,  in  the  sun  and 
the  rain  and  sprouting  grain,  seems  to  me  a  universal 
workingman.  He  solves  the  problem  of  life,  not 

*This  primal  custom  is  still  in  vogue  among  the  Pueblo  In- 
dians of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  the  wild  tribes  of  Mexico, 
South  America,  India,  Asia,  and  Africa. 


THE  LAND— ITS  DISTRIBUTION      57 

for  one,  but  for  all  men  of  sound  body."  To  which 
we  add  the  words  of  Ruskin.  "  But  since  we  live 
in  an  epoch  of  change,  and  too,  probably,  of  revolu- 
tion, and  thoughts  which  are  not  to  be  put  aside  are 
in  the  minds  of  all  men  capable  of  thought,  I  am 
obliged  to  affirm  the  one  principle  which  can  and  in 
the  end  will  close  all  epochs  of  revolution — that  each 
man  shall  possess  the  ground  he  can  use,  and  no 


more." 


THE  LAND.      ITS  PRODUCTIVITY 

A  S  already  stated,  nothing  could  be  more  absurd 

than  to  imagine  that  the  future  development  of 

man  is  dependent  upon  a  special  form  of  government. 

The  instant  it  is  shown  that  the  arable  area  of 
the  Earth  is  more  than  ample  to  support  the  human 
race,  assuring  the  independence  of  the  individual, 
there  can  be  no  particular  demand  for  reformers' 
schemes  and  theories,  for  the  basis  of  human  exist- 
ence and  development  rests  not  upon  them,  but  upon 
the  economy  of  Nature. 

This  great,  underlying  principle  upon  which  human 
society  is  founded  is  a  natural  law  as  available  to 
man  now  as  it  ever  was  in  the  past.  But  in  order 
that  this  truth  may  be  made  clear,  it  will  be  necessary 
first  to  show  by  examples  of  the  productivity  of  the 
soil  that  all  things  have  been  provided  for  man  from 
the  beginning.  That  he  is  to-day  as  free  to  go  and 
come,  to  think  and  act,  and  create  and  manifest  his 
wishes  as  he  ever  was,  provided  he  recognizes  and 
abides  by  this  natural  law. 

58 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      59 

Owing  to  man's  ignorance  and  indifference,  the 
true  possibilities  of  rational  and  scientific  farming 
have  been  confined  chiefly  to  small  areas  of  land. 

Thus  far  the  surface  of  the  Earth  has  only  been 
scratched  with  the  plow;  the  soil  has  never  actually 
been  tilled. 

As  a  result  of  the  prevailing  unscientific  methods 
of  land  culture,  the  nations  of  the  Earth,  taken  in- 
dividually, are  to-day  agriculturally  non-supporting, 
and  mutually  dependent,  one  upon  the  other,  for  their 
food  supplies. 

The  most  striking  example  of  this  agricultural  non- 
support  is  found,  perhaps,  in  great  Britain  which,  with 
its  present  cultivable  area  of  33,000,000  acres  of 
land,  provides  food  for  only  one-third  of  its  popula- 
tion; or,  in  other  words,  with  378  inhabitants  per 
square  mile  it  can  feed  but  130,  requiring  thus  an 
average  of  nearly  three  cultivable  acres  per  capita.* 

The  home-grown  food  production  of  France  and 
Belgium  is  much  better.  France  produces  food  for 
every  170  out  of  188  inhabitants  per  square  mile; 
Belgium  food  for  about  490  out  of  579  inhabitants 
per  square  mile. 

The  Malthusian  theory  that  there  is  not  enough 
land  area  on  the  surface  of  the  Earth  for  the  nourish- 

*  See  Appendix  No.  i  for  domestic  consumption  of  flour  per  capita. 


6o  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

ment  of  its  inhabitants  is  the  reason  given  by  most 
economists  and  those  in  power  for  man's  failure  to 
support  himself  from  the  soil. 

But  is  this  true? 

Is  it  possible  for  Great  Britain,  for  example,  to 
feed  annually  its  40,000,000  inhabitants  from  33,- 
000,000  acres  of  arable  land,  allowing  Sy2  bushels 
of  wheat  required  for  one  man's  annual  food?  * 

'  The  average  yield  per  acre  in  Great  Britain  is 
28  bushels,  or  3  1-2  quarters  [wheat],"  says  Robert 
Blatchford.  "At  3  1-2  quarters  to  the  acre,  8,000,- 
ooo  acres  would  produce  28,000,000  quarters; 
9,000,000  acres  would  produce  31,500,000  quarters. 

'  Therefore,  we  require  less  than  9,000,000  acres 
of  wheat  land  to  grow  a  year's  supply  of  wheat  for 
40,000,000  persons. 

"  Now  we  have  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  about 
33,000,000  acres  of  cultivable  land.  Deduct  9,000,- 
ooo  for  wheat,  and  we  have  24,000,000  acres  left  for 
vegetables,  fruit,  cattle,  sheep,  pigs,  and  poultry."  f 

"  i.  If  the  soil  of  the  United  Kingdom  were  cul- 
tivated only  as  it  was  thirty-five  years  ago,  24,000,- 

*  See  Appendix  No.  2  for  estimate  of  per  capita  consumption  of 
wheat  in  certain  countries. 

t  See  Appendix  No.   3  for  a  more  recent  report. 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      61 

ooo  people,  instead  of  17,000,000,  could  live  on 
home-grown  food. 

"  2.  If  the  cultivable  area  of  the  United  King- 
dom were  cultivated  as  the  soil  is  cultivated  on  the 
average  in  Belgium,  the  United  Kingdom  would 
have  food  for  at  least  37,000,000  inhabitants. 

"  3.  If  the  population  of  this  country  came  to  be 
doubled,  all  that  would  be  required  for  producing 
food  for  80,000,000  inhabitants  would  be  to  culti- 
vate the  soil  as  it  is  now  cultivated  in  the  best  farms 
of  this  country,  Lombardy,  in  Flanders."  * 

This  is  what  British  agriculture  is  capable  of  ac- 
complishing to-day,  and  yet,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
a  single  acre  of  land  is  sufficient  for  the  support  of 
a  man,  statistics  for  1905  show  that  one  person  in 
every  forty  in  England  and  Wales  is  a  pauper. 

The  idea  that  a  large  acreage  is  necessary  to  suc- 
cess in  farming  is  most  erroneous. 

In  1895  there  were  not  less  than  9,188,007  farms 
in  the  United  States,  England,  France,  and  Ger- 
many, from  one  to  twenty  acres  in  size.  The  num- 
ber of  small  farms  in  the  United  States  is  steadily 
increasing. f 

*"  Fields,  Factories,  and  Workshops":  Prince  Kropotkin. 

t  See  Appendix  No.  4  for  small  farms  from  one  to  twenty  acres. 


62  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

"A  large  acreage  is  not  always  essential  to  suc- 
cess in  general  farming.  This  is  shown  by  a  little 
farm  of  fifteen  acres  near  one  of  our  large  Eastern 
cities.  Twenty  years  ago  this  farm  came  into  pos- 
session of  its  present  owner,  with  a  mortgage  of  seven 
thousand  dollars  upon  it.  A  definite  system  of  rota- 
tion and  soiling  was  adopted,  which  included  the 
growing  of  certain  forage  crops  and  their  utilization 
in  the  feeding  of  dairy  cows. 

'  The  farm  is  now  supporting  a  herd  of  twenty- 
eight  dairy  cows,  besides  having  some  produce  to 
sell. 

"  The  crops  are  those  ordinarily  found  on  any 
farm,  corn,  timothy,  clover,  rye,  and  oats.  All  this 
accomplished  by  close  attention  to  details.  System 
and  business  methods  are  followed  everywhere,  and 
the  latest  discoveries  in  agricultural  science  are  util- 
ized. .  .  .  The  new  fields  in  agriculture  are  not 
always  to  be  found  in  general  farming. 

"  Some  of  the  most  promising  openings  for  young 
men  to-day  are  in  the  most  intensive  lines  of  work 
connected  with  the  growing  of  fruits,  vegetables,  and 
other  crops.  ...  In  this  field  general  fruit-growing 
offers  the  greatest  number  of  opportunities  to  young 
men  .  .  .  five,  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  acres  de- 
voted intelligently  to  this  work  should  yield  an  income 


THE  LAND--ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      63 

above  the  average  secured  in  professional  or  mer- 
cantile pursuits."* 

The  two  following  examples  are  merely  average 
yields,  not  maximum  crops: 

1.  "The  Island  of  Jersey,  comprising  an  area  of 
28,707  acres,  rocks  included,  not  only  nourishes  about 
two  inhabitants  to  the  acre,  or  1,300  to  the  square 
mile,  but  maintains  in  addition,  12,300  head  of  cattle 
and  23,000  horses  used  solely  for  agriculture  and 
breeding. 

2.  "  On  a  territory  of  37,000  acres,  all  taken,  in 
the  district  of  Saffelare  in  East  Flanders,  a  popula- 
tion of  30,000  inhabitants,   all  peasants,   not  only 
finds  its  food,  but  manages,  moreover,  to  keep  no 
less  than  10,720  horned  cattle,  3,800  sheep,  1,815 
horses,  and  6,550  swine,  to  grow  flax,  and  to  export 
various  agricultural  produce."  f 

In  reference  to  the  Island  of  Guernsey  ( The 
World's  Work,  December,  1909),  Mr.  Bolton  Hall 
says: 

"  It  is  only  four  to  seven  miles  long  and  three  to 
four  miles  wide,  yet  it  supports  a  population  of  about 

*Prof.  B.  T.  Galloway,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 
United  States. 
t" Fields,  Factories,  and  Workshops":  Prince  Kropotkin. 


64  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

71,000 — 41,000  permanent  and  about  30,000  visi- 
tors each  year — and  also  has  exports  to  the  value  of 
two  and  a  quarter  millions  of  dollars. 

"  The  soil  is  naturally  rocky  and  intractable,  and 
only  11,623  acres  are  capable  of  cultivation.  Yet 
this  little  strip  produces  about  four  and  a  half  mil- 
lion dollars'  worth  of  farm  and  garden  stuff  annually, 
or  a  little  less  than  $400  to  the  acre. 

"  If  the  state  of  New  York  were  cultivated  and 
populated  at  this  rate,  it  would  produce  nearly  $15,- 
000,000,000  worth  annually,  and  sustain  233,541,- 
473  people,  or  about  three  times  the  present  popula- 
tion of  the  entire  United  States." 

The  following  examples  of  remarkable  yields  will 
attest  the  fact  that  still  greater  agricultural  results 
are  obtainable  from  a  higher  standard  of  scientific 
and  intensive  soil  culture: 

1.  "  At  a  recent  competition  [in  America]  in  which  hundreds  of 
farmers  took  part,  the  first  ten  prizes  were  awarded  to  ten  farmers 
who  had  grown,  on  three  acres  each,  from  262  to  346  3-4  bushels 
of  Indian  corn;  in  other  words,  from  87  to  115  bushels  to  the  acre. 

2.  "  In  Minnesota  the  prizes  were  given  for  crops  of  300  to  1,120 
bushels  of  potatoes  to  the  acre,  i.e.,  from  8  1-4  to  31  tons  to  the 
acre." 

3.  [Referring   to   Major   Hallett's  method   of  growing  wheat   in 
rows;    a    method    long    employed    in    China,    India,    and    Japan; 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      65 

planting  each  grain  of  wheat  separately  from  eight  to  ten  inches 
apart:]  "The  8J/2  bushels  required  for  one  man's  annual  food 
were  actually  grown  at  the  Tomblaine  station  (France)  on  a  sur- 
face of  2,250  square  feet,  or  forty-seven  feet  square,  i.e.,  on  very 
nearly  one-twentieth  part  of  an  acre."  * 

1.  "James  L.  Rea  of  Lewis  and  Clark  County, 
Montana  Territory,  produced   102  bushels  of  good 
wheat  from  one  acre,  and  obtained  the  first  premium 
at  the  Fair  for  the  largest  yield  of  wheat  raised  in 
the  Territory. 

2.  "In   the   reports   of   wheat   culture   in    1879, 
eleven   different   producers   in   various   parts   of   the 
United  States  grew  wheat  averaging  from  4254  to 
6i^4  bushels  per  acre. 

3.  "  When  the  writer  was  a  boy  on  the  Genesee 
Flats  fifty  years  ago,  it  was  a  common  thing  among 
farmers  to  obtain  as  high  as  40,  50,  and  often  60 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre."  f 

"  In  Assiniboia,  fifty  to  fifty-five  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre  have  been  threshed  from  a  field  of  one 
hundred  acres  and  over  in  the  Indian  Head,  Wide 
Awake,  and  Abernethy  districts."  $ 

*"  Fields,  Factories,  and  Workshops":  Prince  Kropotkin. 

f" Wheat  Culture":  D.  S.  Curtis.     1888,  4th  edition,  1890. 

|  Report  of  Angus  Mackay,  Superintendent  Experimental  Farm 
for  the  Northwest  Territories,  Indian  Head,  N.W.T.,  Canada,  No- 
vember 30,  1901. 


66  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

The  annual  yield  of  corn  grown  by  Funk  Brothers 
of  Bloomington,  111.,  averages  from  96  to  157 
bushels  per  acre. 

'Thirty-five  bushels  of  wheat  (per  acre)  will 
yield  a  fair  remuneration  for  the  work  expended  in 
production  when  prices  are  at  the  lowest.  When 
they  are  high,  the  profits  are  two  hundred  and  three 
hundred  per  cent."  * 

But  what  is  most  noticeable  in  connection  with 
these  data  is  that  wheat  culture  has  not  improved 
during  the  past  fifty  years. 

The  methods  of  culture  now  employed  at  our  Ex- 
perimental Stations  were  common  knowledge  among 
the  best  farmers  fifty  years  ago;  while  the  average 
maximum  crop  of  45  to  50  bushels  now  grown  at 
our  Agricultural  Institutions  was  regarded  by  them 
also  as  an  average  crop. 

"  The  culture  of  wheat  in  the  United  Kingdom 
has  decreased  by  more  than  half  within  the  past 
thirty  years;  consumption,  meanwhile,  has  been  stead- 
ily increasing;  and  the  situation  now  is  that  the 
English  people,  an  insular  nation,  produces  less  than 
one-fifth  of  the  grain  that  constitutes  their  chief 

•"The  Farmstead":  Isaac  P.  Roberts. 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      67 

article  of  food,  and  are  hence  dependent  for  over 
four-fifths  of  their  supply  upon  over-sea  transporta- 
tion." *  f 

What  an  Acre  May  Produce  in  Vegetables  and  Fruits 
"  An  area  of  150  xioo  feet  [about  two-fifths  of  an 
acre]  is  generally  sufficient  to  supply  a  family  of  five 
persons  with  vegetables,  not  considering  the  winter 
supply  of  potatoes;  but  the  area  must  be  well  tilled 
and  handled.  ...  In  other  words,  the  produce 
that  could  be  thus  obtained  from  an  acre  of  land  well 
situated  would  abundantly  supply  with  nearly  all 
the  vegetables  named,  nineteen  families,  comprising 
in  all  114  individuals."! 

An  acre  will  produce  in  vegetables: 

"  Beets — average  crop  is  300-400  bushels  per  acre. 

Carrots — good  crop  is  200-300  bushels  per  acre. 

Cabbage — 8,000  heads  per  acre. 

Potatoes — The  yield  of  potatoes  averages  about  75 
bushels  per  acre,  but  with  forethought  and  good 
tillage  and  some  fertilizer,  the  yield  should  run 

*  Crop  Reporter,  October,  1905.     Washington,  D.  C. 

t  For  yields  of  wheat,  corn,  and  potatoes,  see  Appendix,  Nos.  5,  6, 
7  respectively.  For  examples  in  Dry  Farming  and  Date  Raising  in 
the  Sahara  Desert,  see  Appendix,  Nos.  8  and  9. 

$"  Principles  of  Vegetable  Gardening":  L.  H.  Bailey. 


68  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

from  200  to  300  bushels,  and  occasionally  yields 

will  much  exceed  the  latter  figure. 
Rhubarb — From  2  to  5  stalks  are  tied  in  a  bunch 

for  market,  and  an  acre  should  produce  3,000 

dozen  bunches. 

Salsify — Good  crop  200-300  bushels  per  acre. 
Onions — A  good  crop  of  onions  is  300-400  bushels 

to  the  acre,  but  600-800  are  secured  under  the 

very  best  conditions."  * 

What  we  may  hope  to  get  from  an  acre,  respec- 
tively, in 

"  Potatoes,  300  bus.  at  75c.  a  bu $225.00 

Cabbages,  20  tons  at  $10.00  a  ton  .  .  200.00 

Carrots  and  Beets,  200  to  400  bus.  150.00 

Tomatoes,  200  crates  at  75c.  a  crate  150.00 

Early  peas,  50  bus.  at  $2.00  a  bu.  .  .  100.00 

Turnips,  400  bus.  at  25C.  a  bu 100.00 

Spinach,  100  bbls.  at  5oc.  a  bbl.  .  .  .  50.00 
Asparagus,  3,000  bunches  at  2Oc.  a 

bunch  600.00 

Cauliflower,  100  to  300  bbls.  at 

$1.50,  say  450.00 

Onions,  600  bus.  at  75c.  a  bu 450.00 

Cabbage  seed,  1,000  Ibs.  at  4oc.  a  Ib.  400.00 

*"  Three  Acres  and  Liberty":  Bolton  Hall. 


THE  LAND--ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      69 

Brussels  Sprouts,  3,000  quarts  at  ice. 

a   qt $300.00 

Celery,  6,000  bunches,  50.  a  bunch  300.00 
Parsnips,  300  bus.  at  $1.00  a  bu.  .  .  300.00 
Lettuce,  9,000  heads  at  3c.  a  head  . .  270.00 
Lima  Beans,  50  bus.  at  $5.00  a  bu.  250.00  "  * 

What  we  may  hope  to  get  from  an  acre,  respec- 
tively, in 

"  Blackberries,  10,000  qts.  at  jc.  a  qt.  $700.00 
Dewberries,  9,000  qts.  at  7c.  a  qt. . .  630.00 
Gooseberries,  250  bus.  at  $2.00  a  bu.  500.00 
Strawberries,  8,000  qts.  at  5c.  a  qt.  400.00 
Currants,  3,000  plants  yield  6,000 

bus 200.00 

Raspberries,  per  acre ,  $200.00  to  600.00 

Peaches,  per  acre 200.00  to  400.00 

Pears,  per  acre 200.00  to  500.00 

Apples,  per  acre   .......      100.00  to  500.00 

Grapes    100.00  "  * 

"  One  farm  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  consists  of 
one  single  acre  of  irrigated  land,  and  gives  a  better 
home  and  larger  net  income  for  its  owner  than  his 
neighbors  enjoy  on  places  of  thousands  of  acres  each. 
The  little  farm  is  at  Orland,  in  Glenn  County,  and 

•"Three  Acres  and  Liberty":  Bolton  Hall. 


70  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

is  the  property  of  Samuel  Cleeks,  who  has  grown  old 
tilling  it  for  the  past  thirty  years. 

"  Mr.  Cleeks  makes  a  comfortable  living  from 
this  one  acre  and  is  able  to  save  an  average  of  four 
hundred  dollars  a  year  beside. 

"  He  has  money  to  loan,  as  well  as  fruit,  vege- 
tables, and  poultry  products  to  sell  to  those  who  are 
getting  poorer  every  year  in  carrying  on  big  farms 
without  irrigation."  *f 

"  The  average  annual  yield  of  Southern  California 
orange  and  lemon  groves,"  says  Mr.  Edgar  French, 
"  is  30,000  carloads.  The  gross  value  of  the  crop 
is  considerably  in  excess  of  30  millions  a  year.  About 
60,000  acres  of  citrus  trees  are  in  bearing. 

"  Translated  into  human  terms,  these  figures  mean 
that  about  6,500  families  in  Southern  California  live 
in  beautiful  orange  groves  of  five  to  twenty  acres 
apiece,  upon  a  gross  income  of,  say,  $500  an  acre 
a  year. 

"  This  means  not  only  the  luxury  of  life  in  a  gentle 
climate  on  a  fragrant  plain,  hemmed  in  by  inspir- 
ing vistas  of  mountainous  ranges;  it  means  that  these 
people  practice  a  species  of  horticulture  that  is  at 

•"Three  Acres  and  "Liberty":  Bolton  Han. 

f  For  a  list  of  what  this  farm  contains,  see  Appendix,  No.  ib. 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY       71 

once  a  fine  art  and  a  paying  commercial  investment; 
that  they  tend  their  groves  with  an  informed  intelli- 
gence that  makes  of  rural  life  an  intellectual  enjoy- 
ment, and  have,  besides,  the  leisure  and  means  for 
recreation,  for  travel,  and  for  other  uplifting  ac- 
quirements of  culture."  * 

"  California,"  says  Mr.  Bolton  Hall,  "  is  not  the 
only  place  in  the  United  States  where  a  man  can  live 
on  one  acre  of  ground,  by  intensive  culture  and  with 
irrigation.  The  Eastern  and  Middle  States  can  pre- 
sent just  as  good,  if  not  better  opportunities,  espe- 
cially where  land  in  small  tracts  is  available  near  the 
large  cities. 

"  At  Hyde  Park,  a  little  village  three  miles  north 
of  Reading,  Pa.,  there  is  a  small  farm  owned  by 
Oliver  R.  Shearer,  who  may  be  said  to  be  one  of  the 
most  successful  farmers  in  the  United  States. 

'  This  farm  contains  3  1-3  acres,  only  2  1-2  of 
which  are  cultivated,  but  they  yield  the  owner  annu- 
ally from  $1,200  to  $1,500.  From  the  profits  of 
his  intensive  farming,  Mr.  Shearer  has  paid  $3,800 
for  his  property,  which,  besides  the  land,  consists  of 
a  modern  two-story  brick  house,  with  barn,  chicken- 

*  "  The  Rediscovery  of  California  ":  Edgar  French.  The  World's 
Work,  August,  1909. 


72  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

yard,  and  orchard,  the  whole  surrounded  by  a  neat 
fence. 

"  He  has  also  raised  and  educated  a  family  of 
three  children.  There  are  no  secrets,  Mr.  Shearer 
says,  about  his  methods  of  farming. 

"  A  study  of  conditions,  the  application  of  com- 
mon-sense methods  and  untiring  energy,  he  asserts, 
will  enable  any  farmer  to  do  what  he  has  done." 

"  Professor  Thomas  Shaw  writes  of  a  plot  of 
ordinary  ground  in  Minnesota  comprising  the  nine- 
teenth part  of  an  acre,  which  for  years  kept  a  family 
of  six  matured  persons  abundantly  supplied  with 
vegetables  all  the  year,  with  the  exception  of  potatoes, 
celery,  and  cabbage.  In  addition,  much  was  given 
away,  more  especially  of  the  early  varieties,  and  in 
many  instances  much  was  thrown  away."  f 

The  One-Acre  Ranch 

The  owner  of  this  acre  of  land  is  Mr.  Joseph 
Lipe,  a  resident  of  Clarkson,  Wash.  Previous  to 
the  purchase  of  the  land,  Mr.  Lipe  lived  in  "  a 
small  two-roomed  flat  in  the  crowded  quarter  of 
Minneapolis,"  and  "  for  thirty  years,  with  hardly  a 
day's  intermission,  had  piloted  a  locomotive." 

•"Three  Acres  and  Liberty":  Bolton  Hall. 
^Maxwell's  Talisman. 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      73 

"  He  was  over  sixty  years  old,"  and  "  in  poor 
health.  .  .  .  He  knew  nothing  of  farming,"  but 
"  was  anxious  to  give  up  railroading  for  a  quieter 
occupation."  An  acre  of  irrigated  land  in  Clarkson 
was  offered  him.  "  On  it  was  a  square,  six-roomed 
house,  unpainted,  one  hundred  and  eighteen  two-year- 
old  fruit  trees,  a  few  vegetables,  dying  for  want  of 
attention,  six  half-starved  chickens,  and  a  huge  rub- 
bish pile.  Inclosing  it  was  a  rickety  barbed-wire 
fence.  That  was  all. 

"  He  paid  fourteen  hundred  dollars  for  the  land 
and  '  improvements,'  and  an  additional  two  dollars 
and  a  half  to  the  former  owner's  son  for  clearing 
away  the  rubbish-heap. 

"  From  that  day  he  paid  not  another  cent  for 
hired  labor.  .  .  .  He  read  all  that  he  could  find 
upon  the  subject,  talked  with  men  who  had  made  a 
study  of  irrigation  farming,  and  went  among  those 
of  his  neighbors  who  were  successful,  working  in  the 
field  with  them. 

"  He  saw  the  results  obtained  through  practical 
operation  of  scientific  methods,  and  that  intelligent 
effort  and  careful  supervision  were  what  counted, 
not  the  amount  of  land  one  possessed. 

"  He  pruned  the  trees  and  set  out  thirty  others  of 
different  varieties;  he  plowed  out  the  old  vegetables 


74  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

and  vines,  and  planted  new  ones;  he  sold  the  half- 
dozen  sick  chickens,  and  replaced  them  by  a  thorough- 
bred Black  Spanish  rooster  and  three  hens,  and  built 
them  a  chicken-yard,  sowing  it  to  wheat. 

"  He  soon  learned  in  just  what  quantities  each 
tree  and  vegetable  required  the  life-giving  moisture. 
.  .  .  At  the  end  of  the  first  year,  the  sale  of  fruits, 
vegetables,  and  chickens  had  not  only  paid  all  living 
expenses,  but  had  left  a  surplus  as  well.  This  was 
returned  to  the  land  for  improvements.  The  house 
was  painted,  new  chicken-houses  were  built,  and  the 
old  fence  was  replaced  by  a  neat  wire  one. 

'  While  the  husband  experimented  with  every 
variety  of  fruit  and  vegetable,  the  wife  experimented 
with  her  preserves  until  they  became  as  famous  as  her 
husband's  crops. 

'  To-day  the  One-Acre  Ranch  has  reached  its  cul- 
mination. .  .  .  Every  inch  of  ground  has  its  duty 
to  perform.  .  .  .  The  land,  however,  is  by  no 
means  all  given  to  agriculture. 

"  The  house  takes  up  one  corner.  In  front  of  it  is 
a  small,  well-kept  lawn  and  flower-garden.  To  the 
north  of  the  house  is  a  large  storage-cellar,  a  tool- 
house,  a  dog-kennel,  numerous  chicken-houses,  and 
several  fenced-in  breeding  and  feeding  pens,  covering 
one-half  acre. 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      75 

"  The  orchard  occupies  one-fourth  of  the  acre. 
In  it  are  one  hundred  and  thirty  trees,  including  eight 
varieties  of  peach,  seven  of  cherry,  and  four  of  apple ; 
also  plum,  apricot,  quince,  English  walnut,  Spanish 
chestnut,  and  almond. 

"  Between  the  trees,  and  on  the  other  fourth  part 
of  the  acre,  are  grown  berries  and  vegetables,  thirty 
varieties  or  more,  including  potatoes,  peas,  beans, 
cucumbers,  tomatoes,  beets,  onions,  squash,  parsnips, 
asparagus,  peppers,  pickles,  turnips,  cabbage,  straw- 
berries, grapes,  currants,  gooseberries,  raspberries, 
and  blackberries. 

"  The  one  hundred  and  seventy-odd  thorough- 
bred chickens  last  year  laid  over  five  thousand 
eggs." 

At  the  Lewiston  Inter-State  Fair  the  One-Acre 
Ranch  was  awarded  thirty-six  prizes.  "  In  addition 
to  an  astonishing  variety  of  fresh  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, there  were  entered  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  cans  of  preserves,  all  of  which  were  different, 
either  in  fruit  or  in  the  mode  of  preserving."  * 

*"  One- Acre  Ranch:  How  to  Make  a  Living  from  One  Acre  of 
Land":  William  Howard  Kirkbride,  Century  Magazine,  March, 
1908. 


76  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

4  The  London  Daily  News  reports  that  in  the  year 
1905,  which  was  not  a  good  year  for  all  crops,  on 
half  an  acre  of  land,  Mr.  Henry  Vincent,  of  Brigh- 
ton, England,  raised  vegetables  which  gave  him  a  net 
profit  of  59  odd  pounds,  or  about  $300.  Thus  this 
yield  is  at  the  rate  of  $600  per  acre.* 

"  Mr.  Vincent  explains  how  he  came  to  go  into 
intensive  cultivation :  '  A  few  years  ago  the  doctors 
said  if  I  did  not  go  out  more  I  could  not  live.  Very 
well,  just  at  that  time  there  was  an  outcry  about  the 
land  not  paying  cultivation. 

'  I  could  not  understand  this,  for  as  a  boy  at 
seven  years  of  age  I  had  to  go  out  to  farm-work, 
therefore,  I  never  went  to  school. 

"  '  Anyhow,  I  thought  something  was  very  wrong 
if  the  land  did  not  pay;  so,  to  compel  myself  to  go  out 
in  the  fresh  air,  I  took  an  allotment  on  the  Sussex 
Downs  to  work  in  the  early  morning  before  my  daily 
duties  began. 

"  '  I  might  say  that  I  am  a  waiter,  and  have  been  in 
my  present  situation  forty  years,  so  you  can  under- 
stand I  could  not  know  much  of  land  or  garden-work. 
I  may  add  that,  my  duty  at  the  hotel  I  am  working 
in,  means  eighty  hours  a  week,  so  I  could  not  see  my 
way  clear  in  the  few  spare  hours  I  get  to  take  more 

*  For  list  of  products  raised  by  Mr.  Vincent,  see  Appendix,  No.  u. 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      77 

than  half  an  acre  of  land  to  garden  early,  especially 
as  I  started  knowing  practically  nothing  about  such 
work,  but  I  can  manage  to  do  my  half-acre  all 
alone. 

'  My  garden  is  situated  on  the  Brighton  Race 
Hill  ridge,  and  twelve  years  ago  it  was  but  four  inches 
of  soil  on  chalk,  but  I  now  have  a  foot  of  soil  on  the 
whole  of  the  half-acre,  and  year  by  year  my  profits  in- 


crease. 

((    C 


Yes,  get  the  men  to  stop  on  the  land  in  this 
country.  We  ought  not  to  have  workhouses.  Every 
man  could  live,  and  live  well,  if  he  could  get  the 
land,  and  would  work  it  as  it  should  be  worked. 

'  Farmers  and  landowners  grumble  because  the 
land  does  not  pay.  Now  for  the  fault.  It  is  quite 
evident  it  is  not  the  land,  therefore,  it  must  be  the 
fault  of  the  man. 

*  Very  well,  get  the  land  from  these  landed  pro- 
prietors, by  sale  preferred,  and  let  it  out  to  men, 
not  by  1,000  acres,  as  no  man  can  farm  well  a  thou- 
sand acres  in  England;  let  the  farms  be  greatly  re- 
duced, and  then  the  land  can  be  treated  as  it  should 
be. 

1  Most  of  us  have  children,  and  we  all  know  how 
we  love  and  treat  them.  Treat  the  land  in  the  same 
manner;  feed  it,  and  keep  it  clean,  and  you  will  have 


78  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

no  cause  to  complain.    The  land  of  old  England  is  as 
good  as  it  ever  was. 

'  I  have  serious  thoughts  of  opening  a  kind  of 
school  for  people  who  would  like  to  make  $500  a 
year  off  an  acre.  It  is  to  be  done,  and  done  easily. 
I  do  know  that  one  man  alone  can  manage  two  acres, 
and  at  the  end  of  this  year  I  shall  be  able  to  tell 
how  much  more  he  can  manage  alone,  so  under  my 
system  one  can  gain  £4  a  week  off  two  acres  and  do 
all  one's  self. 

"  '  If  the  land  will  produce  over  one  hundred 
pounds  per  year  per  acre,  is  it  not  wrong  for  a  man 
to  have,  say,  500  or  1,000  acres  which  in  no  way 
can  he  properly  manage;  as,  in  the  first  place,  he  can- 
not feed  such  an  acreage,  let  alone  keep  it  clean  and 
gather  in  his  crops?'  '  *f 

So  much  for  intensive  soil  culture  and  maximum 
crop  raising;  but  for  the  benefit  of  all  those  who 
still  question  the  productivity  of  the  soil  and  the 
possibilities  of  agriculture,  we  refer  to  Appendix, 

•"Three  Acres  and  Liberty":  Bolton  Hall. 

t  Information  concerning  the  raising  of  game,  pheasants,  and 
other  wild  fowl,  as  well  as  the  addresses  of  persons  engaged  in 
the  business  can  be  had  from  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 
Also  information  regarding  fish  and  bee  culture,  the  rearing  of 
squabs,  growing  mushrooms,  flowers,  drug-plants,  and  other  novel 
and  profitable  uses  of  land.  See  Appendix,  No,  12. 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY       79 

No.    13,    for   the   history   of    "  The   Twenty-Acre 
Farm." 


"  Our  means,"  says  Prince  Kropotkin,  "  of  obtain- 
ing from  the  soil  whatever  we  want,  under  any  cli- 
mate and  upon  any  soil,  have  lately  improved  at  such 
a  rate  that  we  cannot  foresee  yet  what  is  the  limit  of 
productivity  of  a  few  acres  of  land.  .  .  .  Soil 
does  not  matter  now,  nor  climate  very  much. 

'  There  is  quite  a  new  science  of  agriculture  which 
makes  its  own  soil  and  modifies  its  climate.  Corn  and 
fruit  can  be  grown  on  any  soil — on  rock,  on  sand, 
on  clay. 

"  All  we  can  now  say  is,  that  600  persons  could 
easily  live  on  a  square  mile;  and  that,  with  culture 
methods  already  used  on  a  large  scale,  1,000  human 
beings — not  idlers — living  on  1,000  acres,  could 
easily,  without  any  kind  of  overwork,  obtain  from 
that  area  a  luxurious  vegetable  and  animal  food,  as 
well  as  flax,  wool,  silk,  and  hides  necessary  for  their 
clothing." 

In  conclusion  let  us  quote  from  the  address  of 
James  J.  Hill,  President  of  the  Great  Northern 
Railroad,  delivered  at  the  Minnesota  State  Fair  in 
St.  Paul,  September  3,  1906. 


80  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Mr.  Hill's  words  seem  to  be  truly  Inspired,  and 
coming  as  they  do  from  a  man  of  his  type,  one  of 
the  most  conservative  representatives  of  Organized 
Capital,  they  may  be  classed  among  the  most  remark- 
able utterances  made  on  American  soil  since  the 
American  Declaration  of  Independence. 

After  referring  to  the  prodigal  waste  and  wanton 
destruction  of  our  minerals  and  forests,  and  the  im- 
poverishment of  the  soil  by  our  deliberate  neglect 
of  it,  Mr.  Hill  asks : 

"  Where  are  our  children  to  find  standing  room 
and  the  tens  of  millions  of  the  future  a  place  for 
wholesome  industry?  What  are  we  to  do  with  our 
brother,  whose  keeper  we  are?  No  nation  in  history 
was  ever  confronted  with  a  sterner  question. 

'  Within  forty-four  years  we  shall  have  to  meet 
the  wants  of  more  than  two  hundred  million  people. 
In  less  than  twenty  years  from  this  moment  the 
United  States  will  have  130,000,000  people. 

"  Where  are  these  people,  not  of  some  dim,  dis- 
tant age,  but  of  this  very  generation  now  growing 
to  manhood,  to  be  employed  and  how  supported? 

"  A  generous  estimate  of  competent  geologists  for 
the  life  of  the  better  coal  measures  of  Europe  as  a 
whole,  is  less  than  one  hundred  years.  It  is  certainly 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      81 

a  moderate  statement  to  say  that,  by  the  middle  of 
the  present  century,  when  our  population  shall  have 
reached  the  two  hundred  million  mark,  our  best  and 
most  convenient  coal  will  have  been  so  far  consumed 
that  the  remainder  can  only  be  applied  to  present  uses 
at  an  enhanced  cost  which  will  probably  compel  the 
entire  rearrangement  of  industries  and  revolutionize 
the  common  lot  and  common  life. 

'  This  is  not  a  mere  possibility,  but  a  probability 
which  our  country  must  face.  .  .  .  Our  available 
iron  deposits  have  been  carefully  catalogued.  All  the 
fields  of  national  importance  have  been  known  for  at 
least  twenty  years.  In  the  year  1950,  so  far  as  our 
resources  are  concerned,  we  will  approach  an  ironless 
age. 

"  For  a  population  of  200,000,000  people  our 
home  supply  of  iron  will  have  retreated  almost  to  the 
company  of  the  precious  metals.  There  is  no  sub- 
stitute whose  production  and  preparation  for  prac- 
tical use  is  not  far  more  expensive.  .  .  .  The  peril 
is  not  one  of  remote  geologic  time,  but  this  genera- 
tion. And  where  is  there  a  sign  of  preparation  for  it? 

"  If  any  man  thinks  this  prophecy  of  danger  fan- 
tastic, let  him  glance  at  Great  Britain  .  .  .  already 
there  is  a  cry  of  want  and  suffering  from  every  street 
in  England  .  .  .  men  are  hovering  together  in  her 


82  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

cities,  uttering  that  most  pathetic  and  most  awful  ul- 
timatum, '  Damn  your  charity,  give  us  work !  '  And 
this  is  only  the  beginning  of  that  industrial  read- 
justment which  the  unwise  application  of  industry 
and  the  destruction  of  natural  resources  must  force 
everywhere. 

"  Every  people  is  thus  reduced  in  the  final  ap- 
praisal of  its  estate  to  reliance  upon  the  soil.  This  is 
the  sole  asset  that  does  not  perish,  because  it  contains 
within  itself,  if  not  abused,  the  possibility  of  infinite 
renewal.  A  self-perpetuating  race  must  rely  upon 
some  self-perpetuating  means  of  support.  Our  one 
resource,  therefore,  looking  at  humanity  as  something 
more  than  the  creature  of  a  day,  is  the  productivity 
of  the  soil.  .  .  .  When  we  have  added  to  the  na- 
tional export  trade  $500,000,000  per  annum,  the 
country  rings  with  self-congratulation  and  we  demand 
the  plaudits  of  the  world. 

"  If  a  process  for  extracting  metallic  wealth  from 
rocks  were  to  be  discovered  to-morrow,  such  as  to  as- 
sure the  country  an  added  volume  of  a  $1,000,000,- 
ooo  in  wealth  every  year,  the  nation  would  talk  of 
nothing  else.  Yet  these  things  would  be  but  a  trifle 
when  compared  with  the  possibilities  of  agricultural 
development  in  the  United  States. 

"  The  official  estimated  value  of  all  farm  products 


THE  LAND--ITS  PRODUCTIVITY       83 

of  the  country  last  year  ( 1905)  was  $6,415,000,000. 
Discount  this  for  high  prices  and  generally  favorable 
conditions  by  twenty  per  cent.,  and  more  than  $5,- 
000,000,000  remain.  It  is  also  officially  recorded 
that,  of  the  appropriated  farm  area  of  the  United 
States,  a  little  less  than  one-half  is  under  cultivation. 
Utilize  the  other  half  and  without  any  change  in 
method,  the  output  would  be  practically  doubled. 

"  We  should  be  able,  by  the  adoption  of  a  system 
of  culture  in  full  operation  elsewhere,  greatly  to  in- 
crease this  minimum  present  yield  of  $5,000,000,000 
per  annum  of  farm  products.  That  is,  we  may  add 
$10,000,000,000  or  $15,000,000,000  every  year  to 
the  national  wealth  if  we  so  choose. 

"  Only  one-half  of  the  land  in  private  ownership  is 
now  tilled.  That  tillage  does  not  produce  one-half 
of  what  the  land  might  be  made  to  yield,  without  los- 
ing an  atom  of  its  fertility.  Yet  the  waste  of  our 
treasure  has  proceeded  so  far  that  the  actual  value  of 
the  soil  for  productive  purposes  has  already  deterio- 
rated more  than  it  should  have  done  in  five  centuries  of 
use.  There  is,  except  in  isolated  and  individual  cases, 
little  approaching  intensive  agriculture  in  the  United 
States.  There  is  only  the  annual  skimming  of  the 
rich  cream,  the  exhaustion  of  virgin  fertility,  the  ex- 
traction from  the  earth  by  the  most  rapid  process  of 


84  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

its  productive  powers,  the  deterioration  of  life's  sole 
maintenance.  And  all  this  with  that  army  of  another 
hundred  million  people  marching  in  plain  sight  to- 
ward us,  and  expecting  and  demanding  that  they  shall 
be  fed. 

"  The  first  step  is  to  realize  our  dependence  upon 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  The  next  will  be  to  con- 
centrate popular  interest  and  invention  and  hope  upon 
that  neglected  occupation.  We  are  still  clinging  to 
the  skirts  of  a  civilization  born  of  great  cities.  We 
at  this  very  moment  use  a  slang  which  calls  the  stupid 
man  '  a  farmer.' 

"  Genius  has  shunned  the  farm  and  expended  itself 
upon  mechanical  appliances  and  commerce  and  the 
manifold  activities  whose  favorable  reactions  filter 
back  but  slowly  to  the  plot  of  ground  upon  which 
stands  solidly  the  real  master  of  himself  and  his 
destiny. 

"  Japan  is  a  world's  university  for  instruction  in 
the  art  of  agriculture.  Of  her  45,000,000  people, 
30,000,000  are  farmers.  The  whole  body  is  sup- 
ported by  a  cultivated  area  of  but  19,000  square  miles 
...  the  farmer  is  a  specialist.  For  twenty-five 
centuries  this  people  has  turned  to  tillage  as  the  basic 
industry  of  life.  Her  progress  is  in  the  right  direc- 
tion; growth  like  that  of  the  tree,  from  the  ground  up. 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      85 

'  The  Government  should  establish  a  small  model 
farm  on  its  own  land  in  every  rural  Congressional 
district,  later,  perhaps,  in  every  county  in  the  agricul- 
tural States.  Let  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
show  exactly  what  can  be  done  on  a  small  tract  of 
land  by  proper  cultivation,  moderate  fertilizing,  and 
due  rotation  of  crops.  ...  It  can  be  shown  that 
an  average  of  two  persons  or  more  may  be  supported 
on  every  acre  of  tillable  land  by  the  highest  form  of 
intensive  farming. 

"  But  dismissing  this  as  unnecessary,  it  has  been 
shown  that  a  people  like  those  of  Belgium  to-day, 
raise  from  the  soil  food  enough  for  the  needs  of  490 
persons  to  the  square  mile. 

"  Accepting  provisionally  that  ratio  as  a  point  of 
departure,  though  the  actual  ratio  of  area  to  popula- 
tion gives  a  figure  considerably  higher  even  than  this, 
414,498,487  acres  of  improved  farm  lands  in  the 
United  States  on  the  date  of  the  last  official  report, 
an  area  materially  enlarged  by  the  present  time,  would 
support  in  comfort  317,350,405  people.  .  .  .  Ap- 
plying the  same  ratio  to  the  entire  acreage  of  farm 
lands  within  the  United  States,  both  improved  and 
unimproved,  which  was  at  the  same  date  838,591,- 
774,  the  population  indicated  as  able  to  live  with  com- 
fort and  prosperity  on  the  actually  existing  agricul- 


86  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

tural  area  of  this  country,  under  an  intelligent  system 
and  a  fairly  competent,  but  by  no  means  highly 
scientific,  method  of  culture,  rises  to  642,046,823. 

'  The  conclusion  is  that,  if  not  another  acre  were 
to  be  redeemed  from  the  wilderness,  if  the  soil  were 
treated  kindly  and  intelligently,  and  if  industry  were 
distributed  duly  and  popular  attention  were  concen- 
trated upon  the  best  possible  utilization  of  the  one 
unfailing  national  resource,  there  would  be  produced 
all  the  necessary  food  for  the  wants  of,  in  round  num- 
bers, 650,000,000  people." 

Rational,  or  small  farming,  is  indeed  the  salvation 
of  the  human  race.  Search  where  you  will  through- 
out the  world,  the  deepest  content  and  greatest  pros- 
perity are  ever  found  among  the  people  who  possess 
small  farms — who  live  upon  and  till  their  own  soil. 

The  Belgium  farmer  and  those  of  the  Channel 
Islands  on  their  five-  and  ten-acre  farms,  like  the 
farmers  of  New  York,  California,  and  Oregon,  pos- 
sessing but  ten-  and  twenty-acre  farms,  are  far  more 
prosperous  than  the  farmers  of  the  great  English 
and  Russian  estates,  or  the  ranch  owners  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada. 

Average  crops  never  pay  in  the  long  run,  since 
average  land  under  present-day  methods  of  cultiva- 


THE  LAND— ITS  PRODUCTIVITY      87 

tion  yields  only  about  one-fifth  of  what  may  be  pro- 
duced by  more  intensive  methods  of  cultivation. 

The  true  principles  of  soil  culture  can  only  be 
worked  out  and  successfully  exploited  by  single  in- 
dividuals on  small  areas  of  land.  The  reason  why 
men  fail  at  small  farming  is  because  they  are  ignorant 
of  such  principles;  without  such  knowledge,  no  one 
can  engage  successfully  in  small  farming  if  depend- 
ent on  present-day  markets. 

The  area  of  the  Earth  affords  but  a  limited  number 
of  acres  of  arable  land  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  individual,  for  which  reason,  intensive  soil 
culture  and  raising  of  maximum  crops  becomes  not 
only  a  necessity,  but  the  inevitable  end  and  aim  of 
true  agricultural  science. 

"  Give  us  the  man  with  his  little  patch  of  ground, 
his  bean-rows  and  bee-loud  glades,  his  morning  musi- 
cal with  the  lark  and  his  evening  full  of  the  linnets' 
wings. 

"  In  his  sinews  is  the  strength  of  the  good  brave 
soil,  and  in  his  soul  is  the  glory  of  the  sun  and  the 
splendor  of  the  stars. 

"  God  send  him  the  singing  rains,  the  day's  tender 
warmth,  gladness  for  his  seedtime,  and  plenty  for 
his  harvests !  " 


VI 

THE  ARABLE  AREA  OF  THE  EARTH 

"1T7E  know  what  the  soil  will  produce  if  intelli- 
gently cultivated;  we  also  know  that  no  limit 
can  at  present  be  set  to  the  future  possibilities  of 
agriculture. 

It,  therefore,  only  remains  to  be  proved  whether 
or  not  the  arable  area  of  the  Earth  is  sufficient  to 
nourish  the  human  race. 

According  to  Ravenstein,  the  land  area  of  the 
Earth  is  49,402,099  square  miles;  its  population,  in- 
cluding the  polar  regions,  1,602,127,461,  or  32.43 
inhabitants  to  the  square  mile;  and  with  present 
methods  of  soil  culture  and  production  the  Earth 
could  easily  support  207  inhabitants  to  the  square 
mile,  or  a  population  of  10,226,234,493. 

Again,  according  to  Ravenstein,  there  are  28,269,- 
200  square  miles  of  fertile  lands,  and  13,901,000 
square  miles  in  steppes;  making  42,170,200  square 
miles  of  cultivable  land,  not  including  4,180,000 
square  miles  of  desert;  a  large  portion  of  which,  as 

88 


THE  ARABLE  AREA  OF  THE  EARTH       89 

has  been  proved,  is  also  cultivable  if  properly  tilled 
and  irrigated. 

We  have,  therefore,  at  present  42,170,200  square 
miles,  or  26,988,928,000  acres  of  arable  land  at  our 
disposal;  an  average  of  over  16^  acres  to  each  in- 
habitant of  the  Earth. 

The  Earth  is,  then,  not  only  capable  of  nourish- 
ing the  human  race  to-day,  but  with  our  present 
knowledge  of  the  possibilities  of  the  soil  and  the 
application  of  scientific  methods  of  cultivation,  it 
could  easily  support,  if  necessary,  a  population  of 
26,988,928,000;  one  acre  per  capita.* 

These  are  facts,  not  theories.  And  in  the  face  of 
such  facts  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  Malthus' 
economical  theories  are  not  tenable;  especially  when 
we  take  into  consideration  the  additional  fact  that,  if 
the  Earth  were  as  thickly  populated  as  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  to-day,  it  would  have,  exclusive  of  desert 
and  polar  regions,  but  15,300,846,254  inhabitants. 

Will  anyone,  in  the  face  of  these  facts  and  figures, 
longer  dispute  the  individual's  right  to  his  natural 

*  The  population  of  Europe  has  about  doubled  itself  during  the 
last  century,  but  its  general  increase  has  already  practically  reached 
its  maximum.  There  is,  however,  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  Earth 
will  ever  become  over-populated,  for  so  far  as  we  are  at  present 
able  to  observe,  there  seems  to  be  a  natural  law  governing  the 
higher  evolutionary  life  whose  energy  is  expended,  not  in  the  in- 
crease of  reproduction,  but  in  the  quality  of  men. 


90  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

portion  of  the  soil,  or  the  possibility  of  nourishing 
himself  therefrom? 

Human  economy,  to  be  rational,  must  rest  upon 
the  soil  the  same  as  natural  economy,  for  the  reason 
that  human  and  animal  existence  depends  alike  upon 
the  productivity  of  the  soil. 

Nature  has  given  man  the  soil.  If  he  allows  him- 
self to  be  robbed  of  his  natural  portion  of  it,  or  if 
he  fails  to  utilize  its  productivity  by  neglecting  to 
increase  its  fertility,  he  has  no  one  but  himself  to 
blame;  especially  if  the  land  can  neither  be  bought, 
sold,  taxed,  rented,  nor  taken  from  him. 

As  a  result  of  the  above  eduction  of  facts,  every- 
body is  to-day  entitled  to  16^4  acres  of  arable  land, 
but  in  order  that  we  may  not  be  seriously  inconveni- 
enced by  any  future  increase  in  the  world's  popula- 
tion, we  will  withdraw  6-)4  acres  from  each  indi- 
vidual's share  for  a  reserve  fund  of  land;  in  other 
words,  about  10,814,360,361  acres,  which,  allowing 
ten  acres  to  the  man,  represents  a  land  area  capable 
of  supporting  an  increase  of  1,081,436,036  inhab- 
itants, or  520,691,425  inhabitants  less  than  the  entire 
population  of  the  world  to-day;  a  reserve  area  of 
land  more  than  ample  to  meet  the  demands  of  any 
rational  estimate  of  the  world's  increase  in  popula- 
tion for  centuries  to  come. 


THE  ARABLE  AREA  OF  THE  EARTH      91 

Knowing  what  we  do  of  the  productivity  of  the 
soil,  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  state  that,  the  present 
area  of  farm  lands  in  the  United  States,  841,201,546 
acres,  together  with  500,000,000  acres  of  Canadian, 
and  100,000,000  of  Mexican  soil,  a  total  of  1,441,- 
201,546  acres,  could  furnish  all  necessities  of  life 
for  the  entire  population  of  Asia,  Europe,  the  United 
States,  and  Canada,  a  total  of  1,303,841,666  in- 
habitants. And  when  it  is  further  stated  that  the 
continents  of  North  and  South  America  could  to-day 
easily  clothe  and  feed  the  entire  human  race,  it  will 
perhaps  be  worth  our  while  to  consider  seriously 
whether  or  not  there  is  any  justification  for  a  con- 
tinuance of  past  and  present  policies. 

In  fact,  it  cannot  at  present  be  accurately  estimated 
just  what  amount  of  arable  land  man  will  have  at 
his  disposal  in  the  near  future. 

Ravenstein's  figures,  though  accurate,  are  in  a 
measure  antiquated.  Large  areas  of  the  Earth's  sur- 
face have  never  been  surveyed  at  all. 

With  our  ever  increasing  knowledge  of  agricultural 
methods,  irrigation,  and  dry  farming,  the  present 
area  of  arable  land  will  be  vastly  increased. 

Regions  that  were  once  regarded  as  arid  wastes 
and  worthless,  are  no  longer  so  considered.  Even 
the  pure  desert  sands  are  no  longer  looked  upon  as 


92  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

hopeless,  beyond  the  possibilities  of  reclamation, 
large  areas  of  which  must  inevitably  yield  to  superior 
methods  of  soil  culture. 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  once  the  Earth's  surface 
has  been  properly  surveyed,  it  will  be  found  that 
there  is  much  more  arable  land  than  we  at  present 
imagine  and  that  the  portion  of  land  falling  to  the  in- 
dividual might  be  greatly  increased.  But  that  does 
not  alter  the  fact  that  ten  acres  of  land  are  all  that 
he  should  be  permitted  to  hold,  all  that  he  can  con- 
sistently use. 

Ten  acres  of  land  are  not  only  a  fair  allotment, 
but  a  very  generous  portion  of  the  Earth's  surface 
to  consign  to  the  control  of  the  individual  during  a 
lifetime,  especially  since  it  has  been  shown  that  a 
single  acre  of  arable  land  under  ordinary  cultivation 
yields  only  one-fifth  the  amount  of  produce  it  is 
capable  of  yielding,  were  intelligent  and  intensive 
culture  methods  employed  upon  it. 

If  one  acre  of  land  is  capable  of  nourishing  the 
individual,  five  acres  would  be  nearer  a  fair  average 
than  ten  to  allot  to  single  individuals;  but  as  there 
is  an  abundance  of  land  for  everyone,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  reduce  the  individual's  holding  to  so  small  a 
portion. 

Ten  acres,  therefore,  being  ample  not  only  for  the 


THE  ARABLE  AREA  OF  THE  EARTH      93 

maintenance  of  the  individual,  but  also  for  the  aver- 
age family  as  well,  every  human  being  born  into  the 
Earth-life  should  be  entitled  to  that  amount  of  the 
Earth's  surface  (arable  land),  and  should  be  allowed 
to  continue  in  possession  of  the  same  until  death, 
provided  he  makes  use  of  it  for  pastoral  purposes, 
or  utilizes  it  to  its  full  extent  for  some  other  useful 
purpose.* 

The  farmer  should  be  permitted  to  hold  ten  acres 
if  single;  if  married,  he  and  his  wife  twenty  acres  in 
common  (two  ten-acre  plots  adjoining)  ;  because  he, 
like  the  nomad  and  the  savage,  is  the  only  remaining 
member  of  the  human  family  who  still  lives  within 
the  natural  sphere  of  his  earthly  environment,  and 
is,  therefore,  entitled  to  that  portion  of  the  Earth's 
surface  which  is  necessary  to  yield  him  a  comfortable 
living. 

This  same  law  would  also  apply  to  the  dweller 
of  the  city  and  to  all  those  who  acquire  a  living  from 
other  pursuits  than  that  of  husbandry  were  they  not 
one  step  removed  from  man's  natural  condition. 

But  having  removed  themselves  from  man's  natu- 

*  To-day  three  acres  of  land  are  commonly  considered  essential 
to  provide  the  necessities  of  life  for  a  single  person,  or  the  annual 
sustenance  for  one  head  of  horned  cattle  or  eight  sheep;  reckoning 
9,000  Ibs.  of  hay  to  each  horned  head ;  with  intensive  soil  culture, 
one  acre  would  more  than  suffice  for  the  same. 


94  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

ral  condition  to  that  of  an  artificial  one  of  their  own 
creating,  Nature  demands  as  a  sacrifice  from  all  those 
who  have  thus  transgressed  her  laws,  that  portion  of 
their  original  birthright  which  they  have  ceased  to 
cultivate  or  occupy;  or  better,  the  whole  of  it;  as 
the  source  from  which  their  living  is  derived  is  no 
longer  a  natural  one,  but  an  artificial  one. 


VII 

TOWNS  AND  CITIES 

T  T  has  been  seen  that  since  the  husbandman  lives 
in  harmony  with  natural  law,  drawing  his  main- 
tenance from  natural  sources,  he  is  entitled  to  such  a 
portion  of  the  Earth's  surface  as  is  required  to  yield 
him  a  livelihood. 

This  same  law,  it  is  evident,  would  apply  in  like 
manner  to  the  town  or  city  dweller  had  he  not  chosen 
to  leave  man's  natural  or  normal  sphere  of  existence, 
and  create  for  himself  more  or  less  artificial  condi- 
tions, lying  outside  the  pale  of  that  law. 

We  say  artificial  for  the  reason  that  all  institutions 
called  towns  and  cities,  and  all  phases  of  government, 
whether  of  a  local  or  national  character,  which  extend 
beyond  those  of  a  primitive  people,  are  sustained,  not 
from  natural  sources,  but  through  the  artificial  means 
of  taxation — man's  invention,  not  Nature's. 

Since,  therefore,  natural  laws  cannot  be  applied 
to  towns  and  cities,  a  special  method  must  be  em- 
ployed for  the  distribution  of  such  lands  and  property 

95 


96  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

in  order  that  a  system  of  equality  may  be  established 
and  maintained  within  them. 

The  dweller  in  towns  and  cities  who  has  chosen 
some  one  of  the  many  artificial  and  more  or  less  pre- 
carious methods  of  obtaining  a  livelihood  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  natural  occupation  of  husbandry,  has  also, 
by  that  very  choice,  renounced  his  original  birthright. 
He  can  no  longer  lay  claim  to  that  definite  allotment 
of  the  Earth's  surface  which  is  the  farmer's  due  and 
whose  only  valid  tenure  is  its  direct  cultivation  by 
the  holder. 

He  is,  however,  entitled  to  a  residence  or  residences 
surrounded  by  such  ground  space  within  the  ten-acre 
limit  as  he  chooses  to  beautify  and  maintain  as  a 
garden. 

He  is  entitled,  moreover,  to  such  further  ground 
space,  still  within  his  ten-acre  allotment,  as  he  is  able 
to  cover  with  buildings,  including  that  which  is  re- 
quired for  the  purposes  of  his  commercial,  scientific, 
or  artistic  pursuits  with  free  ground  space  for  the 
storage  or  occupancy  of  raw  materials,  or  for  the  clay 
used  for  making  bricks,  tiles,  crockery,  etc.  But 
not  another  square  inch  of  the  Earth's  surface  beyond 
that  which  is  necessary  for  his  immediate  require- 
ments within  the  ten-acre  limit  should  the  individual 
be  permitted  to  hold,  for  the  reason  that  he  would 


TOWNS  AND  CITIES  97 

otherwise  monopolize  land  to  the  detriment  of  the 
Public. 

This  restriction,  limiting  all  persons  not  engaged  in 
pastoral  pursuits  to  that  amount  of  ground  space 
within  the  ten-acre  allotment  which  they  can  cover 
with  buildings,  or  which  is  essential  to  the  immediate 
requirements  of  their  vocations,  will  prevent  effectu- 
ally any  monopolization  of  vacant  land  on  the  part 
of  the  individual,  while  the  provision  that  a  man  may 
surround  his  dwelling  with  but  a  single  acre  of  ground 
unless  he  beautifies  it,  will  likewise  prevent  him  from 
monopolizing  it  under  the  pretense  that  he  is  using 
it  for  residential  purposes  when  in  reality  he  is  using 
it  for  no  useful  purpose  whatever. 

Buildings  are  not  only  subject  to  decay  and  destruc- 
tion, but  they  are  valueless  unless  occupied.  Conse- 
quently their  erection  is  controlled  by  natural  law, 
and  no  one  in  his  right  mind  would  erect  a 
building  unless  it  were  for  his  personal  use,  or  its 
occupancy  by  someone  else  were  practically  assured 
the  owner  beforehand. 

All  persons,  therefore,  should  be  permitted  to 
erect  as  many  buildings  as  they  choose  within  the 
ten-acre  limit,  it  being  evident  that,  apart  from  the 
shelter  of  the  roof-tree  and  the  immediate  require- 
ments of  pastoral,  commercial,  scientific,  and  artistic 


98  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

purposes,  they  can  have  no  value  except  in  cities, 
towns,  or  small  communities. 

And  since  such  cities  or  towns  occupy  but  an  in- 
finitesimally  small  space  in  comparison  with  the 
country  at  large,  the  ground  thus  occupied  by  build- 
ings can  in  no  wise  seriously  affect  the  area  used  for 
pastoral  purposes. 

Since,  however,  the  tenure  of  all  property  not  used 
for  pastoral  purposes  depends  upon  the  fact  that  it 
is  occupied  by  buildings,  or  is  used  in  connection  with 
the  holder's  vocation,  that  holder  may  remain  in  un- 
disputed possession  of  such  property  only  so  long  as 
he  owns  the  buildings  erected  upon  it,  or  otherwise 
employs  it  for  obtaining  a  livelihood. 

Should  a  building  or  other  structure  be  destroyed, 
the  privilege  of  continuing  the  occupancy  of  such 
property  ceases,  unless  its  owner  erects  another  within 
a  fixed  time,  and  in  case  of  his  failure  to  do  so  within 
the  time  limit,  the  property  in  question  reverts  to  the 
public  domain  and  is  again  open  to  occupancy. 

This  law  of  occupancy,  however,  applies  only  to 
city  property,  or  other  lands  used  for  commercial, 
scientific,  or  artistic  purposes.  The  right  of  occu- 
pancy of  pastoral  lands,  depending  as  it  does  upon 
cultivation  or  other  pastoral  uses,  is  not  affected  in 
any  way  by  the  erection  or  non-erection  of  buildings. 


99 

It  should  be  repeated,  however,  that  those  who 
wish  to  possess  farms  can  do  so  only  by  making  their 
permanent  residence  upon  them  and  by  cultivating  the 
soil  themselves.  What  they  may  do  during  their 
leisure  hours  is  no  concern  of  the  world's,  but  their 
pastoral  pursuits  must  come  before  all  others  if  they 
wish  to  hold  their  full  allotment  of  lands. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  who  have  chosen  some 
vocation  other  than  that  of  agriculture,  or  other  pas- 
toral pursuits,  cannot  hold  pastoral  lands. 

For  example — a  physician,  or  manufacturer,  or 
any  other  person  not  engaged  in  pastoral  pursuits  as 
a  profession,  and  not  living  upon  such  land,  cannot 
monopolize  land  within  the  ten-acre  limit  by  hiring 
others  to  cultivate  it  for  him,  thus  reaping  a  financial 
harvest  not  only  from  the  land,  but  also  from  his  own 
business  or  profession. 

The  individual  must  make  his  choice.  He  may 
gain  his  livelihood  directly  from  the  soil  or  through 
some  other  calling,  but  he  cannot  at  the  same  time 
hold  pastoral  land  and  pursue  another  independent 
vocation. 

In  order,  therefore,  that  the  distribution  of  city 
lots  may  be  a  fair  and  equitable  one,  all  those  which 
are  considered  the  choicest,  owing  to  their  location 
for  residential,  commercial,  or  other  purposes,  should 


TOO  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

be  disposed  of  at  public  auction  by  the  municipal 
authorities  for  the  highest  price  the  individual  is  will- 
ing to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  occupying  them;  the 
money  or  bonus  thus  paid  going  into  the  public 
treasury. 

The  individual  pays  not  for  the  land,  which  cannot 
be  bought  or  sold,  but  merely  for  the  privilege  of 
occupying  a  certain  piece  of  property  within  a  city's 
limits,  and  he  can  hold  or  occupy  it  only  so  long  as 
it  is  built  upon,  or  is  used  in  connection  with  the 
immediate  requirements  of  his  business  or  pro- 
fession. 

This  bonus  exacted  by  the  Municipality  for  the 
privilege  of  occupancy  should  be  paid  but  once,  other- 
wise it  would  assume  the  nature  of  a  tax  on  land, 
which  is  unlawful. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  no  competitors  for 
the  occupancy  of  any  city  lots,  the  person  desiring 
them  for  a  residence,  for  the  erection  of  buildings, 
or  for  other  useful  purposes  in  connection  with  his 
vocation,  may  make  use  of  them  without  paying  a 
bonus. 

This  device,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  prevent  as 
far  as  possible  the  erection  of  cheap  or  poor  buildings 
in  select  city  quarters,  only  applies  to  towns  and 
cities.  A  number  of  persons  desiring  a  particular 


[TOWNS  AND  CITIES  101 

allotment  of  pastoral  land  must  draw  lots  for  it; 
the  land  falling  to  him  who  draws  the  lucky 
number. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  all  public  buildings, 
parks,  and  institutions  created  and  maintained 
solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  Public,  may  occupy 
as  much  land  or  ground  space  as  is  considered 
necessary  for  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  in- 
stituted. 

This  law,  however,  does  not  apply  to  such  institu- 
tions as  hotels  and  clubs. 

Hotels  being  merely  money-making  institutions, 
should  be  treated  like  all  other  commercial  institu- 
tions. They  are  not  public,  but  private  institutions, 
and  must  be  limited  to  ten  acres  of  land,  no  matter 
whether  one  person  or  a  thousand  be  interested  in 
their  operation. 

If  a  hotel  is  erected  in  a  town  or  city,  the  owner  or 
owners  thereof  should  be  allowed  only  that  amount 
of  ground  space  which  the  hotel  proper  and  its  acces- 
sory structures  occupy,  together  with  such  free  ground 
space  within  the  ten-acre  limit  as  is  necessary  for  its 
operation. 

If  the  hotel  is  erected  in  the  country  or  rural  dis- 
tricts, any  free  ground  space  within  the  ten-acre  limit 
not  occupied  by  the  buildings,  structures,  etc.,  may  be 


102  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

used  for  a  garden  if  beautified  by  the  owner  or  owners 
of  the  hotel. 

No  person  can  possess  an  interest  in  a  hotel  if  such 
interest  represents  a  ground  space  which,  when  added 
to  his  individual  allotment,  would  make  his  holdings 
exceed  the  ten-acre  limit. 

Clubs  may  be  classed  as  limited  public  institutions 
if  maintained  by  those  desiring  them  solely  for  pleas- 
ure and  recreation;  but  they  cannot  be  so  classified 
if  used  as  money-making  institutions. 

All  clubs,  whether  in  cities  or  in  rural  districts, 
should  be  permitted  to  occupy  only  that  amount  of 
ground  space,  within  the  ten-acre  limit,  which  is  re- 
quired for  their  various  buildings,  with  enough  free 
ground  space  for  their  proper  operation. 

People  who  wish  to  indulge  in  golf  or  other  out- 
door sports  and  pastimes  may  do  so  in  parks  or  com- 
mons, maintained  by  the  Public  for  purposes  of  recre- 
ation, or  on  any  unoccupied  land  which  is  free  to  the 
Public. 

Our  present-day  clubs  of  the  nature  described  could 
still,  under  the  new  dispensation,  retain  their  exclusive 
rights  and  privileges  in  connection  with  all  necessary 
ground  space  within  the  ten-acre  limit;  but  all  free 
and  open  lands  now  controlled  by  them  or  used  for 
recreation,  sports,  or  other  pastimes  should  be  sur- 


TOWNS  AND  CITIES  103 

rendered  to  the  Public  and  be  controlled  for  the  Pub- 
lic's benefit. 

And  if  there  is  found  to  be  enough  available  free 
land  in  any  community  for  such  recreation  grounds, 
they  may  be  maintained  by  that  community  for  the 
good  of  all. 

As  all  communities  beyond  the  primitive  form  are 
sustained,  not  from  natural  sources,  but  by  the  arti- 
ficial means  of  taxation,  all  those  wishing  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  or  benefits  which  towns  or  cities  are 
supposed  to  bestow  upon  mankind  must  pay  the  reve- 
nues demanded  for  the  privilege  of  living  in  them, 
or  else  move  on  to  their  free  portions  of  pastoral 
land  which  cannot  be  taken  from  them. 

Since  revenues  are  necessary  to  sustain  all  forms 
of  government  beyond  the  primitive  type,  every 
citizen  enjoying  the  protection  of  the  State  or  a 
Municipality  should  pay  his  due  share  of  such 
revenues. 

And  in  case  those  enjoying  such  protection  refuse 
to  contribute  that  share,  the  State  or  Municipality 
shall  have  the  power  to  take  from  the  delinquents 
such  parts  of  their  personal  property  as  it  deems 
necessary  to  reimburse  it  for  the  loss  of  such 
revenues. 

But  it  cannot  touch  the  land.     For  man  and  the 


io4  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

land  come  before  man's  institutions.  The  soil  is  as 
essential  to  human  existence  as  the  air  or  the  water, 
and  to  deprive  man  of  that  portion  of  the  Earth's 
surface  which  is  necessary  for  his  maintenance  is  quite 
as  illogical  and  unnatural  as  to  deprive  him  of  the 
air  and  sunlight. 


VIII 

FAMILY  HOLDINGS  AND  INHERITANCE 

PERSONS  engaged  in  pastoral  pursuits  cannot  con- 
trol two  separate  allotments  of  land.     They  can 
control  only  the  full  amount  or  such  part  of  their 
rightful  portion  of  land  as  is  in  one  piece. 

For  example — a  single  individual  cannot  control 
two  separate  five-acre  tracts  of  land,  nor  can  a  mar- 
ried couple  control  two  ten-acre  tracts  of  land  in 
common  unless  they  are  adjoining. 

Neither  can  a  married  couple  holding  two  ten-acre 
tracts  in  common  erect  buildings  on  the  line  of  their 
adjoining  tracts.  All  buildings  must  lie  wholly 
within  the  limits  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  separate 
holdings  in  order  that  no  confusion  may  arise  in  con- 
nection with  the  redivision  of  the  land  should  the 
couple  separate  or  one  of  them  die. 

In  like  manner  any  number  of  persons  may  culti- 
vate their  lands  in  common  if  they  so  desire.  In 
such  cases  they  may  either  live  on  their  separate 
tracts,  or  cluster  in  villages,  forming  a  central  point 
from  which  their  fields  radiate. 

105 


io6  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Or  again,  if  on  account  of  the  individual's  safety, 
or  owing  to  sanitary  reasons,  it  is  found  necessary 
and  expedient  for  certain  communities  living  in  iso- 
lated regions  to  cultivate  fields  or  lands  lying  at  a 
distance  from  their  towns,  such  communities  should 
be  permitted  to  exercise  this  custom.  But  such  com- 
munities should  be  strictly  pastoral  in  character,  and 
the  ground  space  occupied  by  the  individual's  dwell- 
ing must  be  included  in  the  ten-acre  limit. 

Such  practices  are  in  vogue,  especially  among  primi- 
tive peoples,  in  certain  unhealthy  and  desert  regions 
throughout  the  world  to-day,  and  should  be  respected 
wherever  they  are  necessary.  Like  regard  may  be 
paid  to  the  tribal  customs  of  many  communities  in 
Asia,  Africa,  Asia  Minor,  and  our  own  Pueblo  In- 
dians which  have  been  forced  to  adopt  this  method 
from  earliest  times  and  are  still  practicing  it.  But 
this  practice  must  be  confined  to  such  communities 
only. 

Should  a  person  living  on  a  ten-acre  tract,  or  less, 
of  pastoral  land  marry,  the  couple  or  unit  constituting 
the  family,  can  increase  the  size  of  their  farm  up 
to  the  twenty-acre  limit  (ten  acres  to  each  person) 
only  if  the  additional  land  adjoins  their  original 
tract.  Otherwise  they  must  be  content  with  their 
present  allotment  or  move  to  a  larger  tract  within 


FAMILY  HOLDINGS  107 

the  twenty-acre  limit  if  such  a  one  is  available. 
And  such  tract  must  be  equally  divided  between 
them. 

This  will  confine  the  family  unit  to  one  spot,  as 
is  fitting,  and  force  everybody  to  utilize  the  land 
which  he  occupies. 

The  children  of  parents  living  on  pastoral  lands 
can  lay  claim  to  their  rightful  portion  of  land  only 
if  they  leave  the  shelter  of  the  family  roof  and 
establish  homes  of  their  own.  All  youth  should 
be  considered  eligible  to  pastoral  lands  at  the  age 
of  sixteen;  to  city  property  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one. 

A  family  or  married  couple  engaged  in  pastoral 
pursuits  may,  as  stated,  hold  twenty  acres  of  land 
in  common  for  the  reason  that  unencumbered  pastoral 
lands  can  easily  be  divided  and  redistributed  upon  the 
separation  of  husband  and  wife,  or  the  death  of 
either.  But  twenty  acres  of  land  encumbered  with 
buildings,  structures,  &c.,  cannot  be  held  in  common 
by  a  couple  engaged  in  other  than  pastoral  pursuits, 
since  such  a  redivision  would  be  impossible. 

Therefore,  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  confusion 
arising  from  such  cases,  or  from  single  individuals 
falling  heir  to  property  which  encumbers  more  than 
ten  acres  of  ground  space,  a  husband  or  wife,  or  any 


io8  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

number  of  persons  engaged  in  non-pastoral  pursuits, 
should  be  permitted  to  use  or  build  over  only  ten 
acres  in  common. 

A  husband  or  wife,  however,  may  make  use  of  or 
cover  with  buildings,  structures,  &c.,  each  in  his  or 
her  own  name  and  right,  and  in  connection  with  his 
or  her  chosen  vocation,  the  ten-acre  tract  which  is  the 
legal  allotment  of  the  individual.  But  such  holdings 
must  be  kept  separate;  under  no  circumstances  may 
they  be  held  in  common. 

The  adjustment  of  such  estates  would  be  an  easy 
matter  upon  the  separation  of  a  couple,  or  upon  the 
death  of  a  husband  or  wife. 

For  example — if  one  member  of  a  married  couple 
possessing  ten  acres  in  his  or  her  own  right  (covered 
with  buildings,  structures,  &c.),  should  die,  the  re- 
maining member  of  the  family  could  inherit  the  whole 
or  a  part  of  the  deceased's  estate  only  on  condition 
that  he  or  she  disposed  of  an  equal  part  of  his  or 
her  personal  holdings  before  coming  into  possession 
of  the  new  estate. 

If  heirs  already  in  possession  of  their  full  allotment 
of  land  encumbered  with  structures,  &c.,  do  not  wish 
to  exchange  the  whole  or  a  part  of  their  holdings 
for  the  property  left  them,  the  State  must  dispose 
of  the  deceased's  estate  at  public  auction.  In  which 


FAMILY  HOLDINGS  109 

case  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  must  be  rendered  unto 
the  deceased's  heirs. 

These  requirements  of  the  law  must  be  complied 
with  within  a  given  time  fixed  by  law. 

It  is  immaterial  whether  or  not  such  persons  are 
obliged  to  dispose  of  their  property,  or  property 
willed  to  them,  at  a  loss;  for  no  one,  under  any  con- 
dition whatever,  shall  at  any  time  be  permitted  to 
hold  more  than  his  rightful  portion  of  land. 

If  any  person  fails  to  comply  with  this  requirement 
of  the  law,  the  property  in  question  falls  free  to  the 
State  or  Municipality,  and  must  be  disposed  of  at 
public  auction;  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  going  into 
the  Public  Treasury. 

If  one  member  of  a  married  couple  occupying  pas- 
toral lands  should  die,  leaving  no  children,  the  sur- 
viving member  of  the  family  must  immediately  sur- 
render the  deceased's  land  to  the  State  if  at  the  time 
of  the  latter's  death  their  mutual  holdings  exceed  the 
ten-acre  limit. 

All  structures,  &c.,  encumbering  such  lands  shall 
be  disposed  of  by  the  State  at  public  auction,  the 
proceeds  of  which  shall  be  rendered  unto  the  surviv- 
ing member  of  the  family. 

Should  a  person  die  without  heirs  or  without  will- 
ing his  property  or  effects  to  anyone,  his  possessions 


no  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

fall  free  to  the  State  or  Community  in  which  he 
dwelt.  They  must  be  disposed  of  at  public  auction, 
the  proceeds  going  into  the  Public  Treasury. 

All  estates  which  have  been  left  to  heirs  not  of 
age,  should  be  held  in  trust  by  the  State  until  such 
heirs  have  reached  the  age  of  majority,  upon  which 
they  should  be  permitted  to  come  into  control  of  their 
own. 

Also,  heirs  to  property  who  cannot  be  found  at  the 
time  they  are  lawfully  entitled  to  come  into  posses- 
sion of  said  property,  or,  who  cannot  be  found  upon 
the  demise  of  those  who  have  willed  it  to  them,  should 
be  allowed  a  reasonable  length  of  time  in  which  to 
appear  to  prove  their  right  of  claim  to  said  property. 
All  such  property  should  be  held  in  trust  by  the  State 
during  such  lapse  of  time.  Should  no  heirs  appear 
during  this  lapse  of  time  fixed  by  law,  the  State  falls 
heir  to  the  property. 

Again,  if  during  his  lifetime,  an  individual  en- 
gaged in  pastoral  pursuits  wishes  to  change  or  re- 
linquish his  allotment  of  land  for  another,  he  is  at 
liberty  to  do  so.  In  which  event,  he  surrenders  all 
claim  to  the  land  he  has  hitherto  occupied,  which 
again  falls  free  to  the  Public,  or  to  the  person  who 
pays  the  highest  price  for  the  structures  or  improve- 
ments found  upon  it.  The  price  paid  for  such  im- 


FAMILY  HOLDINGS  in 

provements  should  be  duly  rendered  unto  the  former 
occupant  of  the  land. 

All  structures  or  improvements  occupying  aban- 
doned pastoral  lands  must  either  be  removed  or  dis- 
posed of  by  their  owners  within  a  given  time  specified 
by  law,  or  the  State  falls  heir  to  them,  and  may  dis- 
pose of  them  at  public  auction. 

Should  such  improvements,  occupying  pastoral 
lands  or  city  property,  find  no  purchasers  after  the 
date  set  for  the  public  auction  has  expired,  lots  shall 
be  drawn  for  such  property,  and  it  shall  fall  to  him 
who  draws  the  lucky  number. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  individual  remains  in  un- 
disputed possession  of  his  lawful  portion  of  land, 
whether  city  or  pastoral,  during  his  lifetime,  or  so 
long  as  he  uses  it  in  connection  with  his  vocation;  and 
upon  his  death  his  family  or  heirs  may  inherit  and 
retain  possession  of  any  buildings,  structures,  &c., 
erected  upon  it,  or  may  cultivate  or  use  it  for  pas- 
toral, commercial,  scientific,  or  artistic  purposes  as 
long  as  it  pleases  them,  provided  said  land  is  not  in 
excess  of  the  individual's  ten-acre  limit. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  go  into  further  detail 
concerning  the  right  of  occupancy  of  property  en- 
cumbered with  buildings,  structures,  &c.,  or  used  in 
connection  with  business  and  other  professions. 


ii2  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

All  buildings,  edifices,  mechanical  constructions, 
devices,  &c.,  of  whatever  character,  should  be  bought, 
sold,  rented,  inherited,  or  disposed  of  on  precisely 
the  same  principles  as  they  are  to-day. 

Ten  acres,  as  already  shown,  are  a  very  generous 
amount  of  land  to  consign  to  the  agriculturist,  and 
more  than  ample  for  the  support  of  the  individual  if 
covered  with  buildings. 

In  fact,  only  the  few,  the  extreme  rich,  are  to-day 
able  to  cover  that  amount  of  ground  space  with  sub- 
stantial structures,  or  use  it  in  connection  with  pro- 
fessions and  pursuits  not  pastoral  in  their  nature. 

The  law,  as  here  set  forth,  compelling  the  indi- 
vidual to  use  the  land  which  he  occupies  for  some 
good  purpose  or  surrender  it  to  the  Public,  will  ulti- 
mately force  him  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  ten  acres 
of  land  at  his  disposal. 


IX 

WOOD 

"\T7OOD,  like  land,  is  one  of  the  natural  resources 
of  the  Earth.  It  should,  therefore,  be  under 
the  direct  control  of  the  State,  and  its  distribution 
regulated  by  practically  the  same  natural  law  as  that 
which  governs  the  land. 

The  State  should  appoint  the  officials  whose  duty 
it  is  to  attend  to  the  preservation  of  the  forests,  to 
oversee  the  felling  of  the  trees  required  by  the  public 
demand  for  timber,  and  to  control  also  the  distribu- 
tion of  that  timber. 

The  State  also  appoints  its  officials  in  every  city, 
town,  and  rural  district  where  they  are  required  to 
receive  the  timber,  and  to  control  its  distribution  to 
the  Public. 

Not  a  tree  within  the  radius  of  the  public  forestries, 
or  on  unoccupied  land,  can  be  bought  or  sold,  or  dis- 
posed of  for  remuneration  by  the  individual  unless 
it  is  felled  by  order  of  the  State;  and  for  felling  the 
trees  the  State  should  employ  laborers,  paying  them, 

"3 


ii4  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

as  it  does  its  laborers  to-day,  according  to  the  current 
rate  of  wages. 

The  State,  therefore,  assumes  the  responsibility  of 
preserving  the  forests,  felling  trees,  transporting  tim- 
ber in  its  rough  state,  and  distributing  it  after  it  has 
reached  its  destination. 

The  trees,  like  the  land,  are  free  to  all.  The  price 
paid  the  State  for  them  is  not  for  the  trees,  which 
cost  nothing,  but  merely  the  actual  cost  of  maintain- 
ing the  forestry  service  and  of  distributing  the  timber. 

This  point  must  be  kept  clearly  in  view:  The  cost 
of  timber  acquired  after  this  manner  is  in  no  sense 
a  revenue  on  wood,  which  would  be  unlawful,  but 
is  merely  the  actual  or  minimum  expense  entailed 
on  the  State  by  its  production,  preservation,  and  de- 
livery to  the  Public;  a  price  fully  one  hundred  per 
cent  cheaper  than  that  exacted  to-day  from  the  con- 
sumer who  is  obliged  to  pay  the  profits  demanded  by 
the  owners  of  forests,  and  lumbermen,  railroads,* 
and  middlemen. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  place  wood  within  the 
reach  of  the  Public  at  less  expense. 

The  State  assumes  no  other  responsibilities  in  re- 

*  The  railroads,  like  certain  other  public  utilities,  shall  be  owned 
and  operated  by  the  State,  to  the  discussion  of  which  a  special 
chapter  shall  be  devoted. 


WOOD  115 

gard  to  wood  than  those  already  mentioned.  All  ad- 
ditional expense  entailed  by  its  removal  from  the 
State  depots,  or  public  wood-yards,  as  well  as  the 
cost  of  cutting  and  sawing  it,  &c.,  must  be  borne 
by  the  individual. 

The  individual  may  ask  any  price  he  chooses  for 
cutting  and  sawing  such  timber,  for  the  prepared  lum- 
ber itself,  and  for  any  articles  manufactured  from 
wood.  It  is  only  timber  in  the  rough  state  which 
has  been  obtained  from  the  Public  Forestries  that  the 
individual  is  debarred  from  selling,  bartering,  or 
exchanging  for  something  else. 

It  thus  becomes  apparent  that  only  those  who  pos- 
sess sufficient  means  for  obtaining  timber  to  sell  again 
in  the  shape  of  lumber  or  other  manufactured  articles 
can  acquire  it  of  the  State  for  such  purposes.  Those 
who  are  unable  to  pay  the  price  demanded  by  the 
State  cannot  obtain  a  foot  of  timber  to  dispose  of 
to  others  for  money  or  any  other  form  of  compensa- 
tion. 

Everyone,  however,  is  entitled  to  enough  timber 
to  supply  his  immediate  and  actual  wants  for  fuel 
and  for  the  construction  of  his  dwelling,  &c. ;  this 
portion  belonging  to  him  by  natural  right  or  law  as 
truly  as  does  his  free  allotment  of  land. 

If  he  is  too  poor  to  purchase  it  from  the  State,  he 


ii6  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

should  be  allowed  to  cut  the  timber  himself  from  a 
public  forestry,  furnishing  his  own  instruments  for 
the  purpose.  And  it  will  be  the  duty  of  the  forest 
officials  to  see  that  he  takes  no  more  timber  than  he 
actually  requires. 

When  once  he  has  cut  the  timber,  he  must  carry 
it  away  as  best  he  can,  and  he  must  also  erect  his 
dwelling,  &c.,  without  employing  the  help  of  anyone 
else.  His  friends  may  assist  him  in  the  work  if  they 
see  fit,  but  such  help  must  be  given  without  remunera- 
tion, after  the  custom  of  primitive  communities  whose 
members  voluntarily  assist  one  another  in  the  con- 
struction of  their  houses. 

Once  this  free  portion  of  wood  has  been  allowed 
the  individual,  he  must  henceforth  obtain  it  from 
the  State  in  the  same  manner  as  does  his  neighbor, 
or  else  go  without.  So  much  wood  is  free  to  the 
individual — no  more. 

Naturally  this  law  of  free  heritage,  the  pioneer's 
and  the  frontiersman's  right,  can  be  of  practical  value 
only  to  those  living  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a 
public  forest. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  trees,  like  everything 
else  raised  and  produced  on  and  from  individual 
allotments  of  land,  may  be  disposed  of  as  their  owners 
see  fit. 


WOOD  117 

With  such  conditions  prevailing,  no  one  would  be 
able  to  monopolize  a  forest  at  the  expense  of  the 
Public,  while  the  absolute  justice  resulting  from  such 
an  impartial  distribution  of  timber  is  so  evident,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  only  those 
really  desiring  the  privilege  of  felling  their  free  allot- 
ment of  trees  would  apply  for  it. 

The  State,  moreover,  should  discourage  all  unnec- 
essary use  of  timber  by  requiring  the  individual  to 
use  substitutes  for  it  whenever  possible. 

Thus,  for  example,  stone,  bricks,  plaster,  cement, 
and  adobe  are  to  be  had  in  almost  every  part  of  the 
world  as  easily  and  cheaply  as  wood.  These  ma- 
terials, therefore,  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  sub- 
stituted for  wood  in  the  construction  of  houses. 

In  like  manner  metal  poles  should  be  employed 
instead  of  wooden  ones  in  carrying  telephone  and 
telegraph  wires  across  country,  while  in  cities  those 
wires  should  be  placed  underground. 

Railroad  ties  should  be  of  metal.  Tanning  and 
wood-pulp  industries  should  be  permitted  to  use  only 
wood  grown  on  individual  allotments  of  land,  to- 
gether with  the  waste  products  of  public  timber. 


X 

FORESTRY 

men  realize  the  value  of  forests. 

"  Our  civilization  is  built  on  wood.  From  the 
cradle  to  the  coffin,  in  some  shape  or  other,  it  sur- 
rounds us  as  a  convenience  or  a  necessity. 

u  It  enters  into  nearly  all  our  structures  as  an  es- 
sential part.  Over  half  our  people  live  in  wooden 
houses,  and  the  houses  of  the  other  half  require  wood 
as  an  indispensable  part  in  their  construction. 

"  It  serves  to  ornament  them,  to  furnish  them  with 
conveniences,  to  warm  them,  to  cook  the  food.  .  .  . 
The  forest  furnishes  the  cooperage  to  market  our 
vintage,  to  store  our  flour  and  fruit. 

"  The  forest  furnishes  the  plow-handle  and  the 
harrow-frame  to  cultivate,  the  threshing-machine  and 
windmill  to  prepare  the  crops,  the  cart  to  bring  them 
to  market,  the  bottoms  in  which  they  cross  the  ocean 
to  foreign  marts,  and  even  the  tar  and  pitch  needed  to 
keep  the  cargo  safe. 

"  We   are  rocked   in  wooden   cradles,   play  with 

118 


FORESTRY  119 

wooden  toys,  sit  on  wooden  chairs  and  benches,  eat 
from  wooden  tables,  use  wooden  desks,  chests,  trunks, 
are  entertained  by  music  from  wooden  instruments, 
enlightened  by  information  printed  on  wooden  paper 
with  black  ink  made  from  wood.  .  .  .  Every  pound 
of  iron,  every  ounce  of  gold,  requires  wood  in  its 
mining,  wood  in  its  manufacture,  wood  in  its  trans- 
portation. 

'  There  is  hardly  a  utensil,  a  tool,  or  even  a  ma- 
chine, in  the  construction  of  which  wood  has  not 
played  a  part,  were  it  only  to  furnish  the  handle  or 
the  mold  or  pattern."  * 

Many  trees  of  the  tropical  and  temperate  zones 
yield  tannin.  Says  Julia  E.  Rogers,  in  "  The  Tree 
Book " :  "  Among  the  products  of  native  trees  the 
nuts  are  important.  Their  food  value  is  coming  to 
be  appreciated  at  home  and  abroad.  The  hickories 
include  the  pecan  and  two  shagbarks,  both  nuts  of 
commercial  value. 

"  Walnuts  and  chestnuts  are  secondary.  Beech 
and  acorn  mast  fatten  hogs  and  furnish  a  living  to 
innumerable  birds  and  wild  game,  as  also  do  berries, 
plums,  and  other  tree  fruits.  Flowers  of  locust  and 
basswood,  plum,  and  cherry  pasture  honey  bees.  So 

*"  Economics  of  Forestry":  Professor  Bernhard  E.  Fernow. 


120  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

do  many  trees  of  less  conspicuous  inflorescence. 
Gums  of  balsam  fir  and  other  conifers,  sweet  gum 
and  wax  myrtle,  berries  of  buckthorns,  wild  cherry 
and  holly,  roots  of  sassafras,  twigs  of  witch-hazel, 
all  yield  drugs. 

"  Our  Southern  silva  furnishes  valuable  dyewoods. 
Sugar  from  the  sap  of  maples  forms  an  important 
and  delicious  food  product.  In  the  Old  World  and 
in  the  tropics  are  trees  whose  great  value  to  the  hu- 
man race  is  suggested  by  the  mere  mention  of  their 
names.  The  cinchona  tree  yields  quinine  from  its 
bark.  The  juice  of  certain  trees  hardens  into  rubber. 
Lacquer  varnish  is  the  juice  of  a  sumach  in  Japan. 
.  .  .  Nutmeg  and  mace  and  cloves  and  all-spice 
grow  on  trees  in  tropical  countries.  The  palms  feed, 
clothe,  and  house  people.  It  is  an  endless  story — the 
useful  products  of  trees,  cultivated  and  growing  wild 
on  the  Earth.  The  tropical  woods  are  full  of  undis- 
covered possibilities.  Our  own  rich  forest  flora  has 
but  begun  to  show  its  value  to  man." 

Besides  contributing  in  all  ways  to  the  service  of 
man,  forests  create  and  maintain  the  climatic  condi- 
tions most  favorable  to  his  existence.  Trees  cast  a 
grateful  shade,  form  windbreaks  against  hot  and  cold 
winds,  and  prevent  the  shifting  of  the  soil. 


FORESTRY  121 

The  roots  of  trees  are  rock-breakers.  They  shat- 
ter even  ledges  of  granite,  and  thus  in  the  process  of 
the  years  crumble  rock  into  soil.  Trees  on  hillsides 
and  mountains  prevent  the  flooding  of  valleys.  They 
extract  poisonous  gases  from  the  air,  their  leaves 
form  soil.  Waste  land,  swamps,  and  semi-arid 
regions  may  be  reclaimed  through  the  agency  of  trees. 

The  supreme  beauty  and  significance  of  trees  in  a 
landscape  have  from  the  earliest  ages  deeply  influ- 
enced the  minds  of  men. 

The  Greeks  humanized  the  forests,  peopling  them 
with  dryads  and  hamadryads,  exquisite  creatures  of 
the  moonlight  and  the  mist,  who  guarded  each  chosen 
tree  and  perished  with  it.  So  did  also,  in  a  measure, 
the  inhabitants  of  ancient  India,  China,  and  Japan. 

The  ancient  Druids,  Teutons,  Celts,  and  Norse- 
men worshiped  the  oak,  pine,  and  mistletoe,  express- 
ing their  veneration  in  secret  rite  and  solemn  cere- 
mony. The  myths  and  songs,  the  legends  and  poems 
of  all  primitive  peoples  repeat  over  and  over  in  vari- 
ous forms  the  veneration  with  which  solemn  wood- 
lands were  regarded,  a  purifying  emotion  which  we 
moderns  share  in  varying  degrees  and  after  our  mod- 
ern fashion. 

It  should  be  the  first  object  of  every  country  to 
renew,  increase,  and  conserve  its  forests.  A  treeless 


122  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

land  means  a  desert;  the  greatest  calamity  that  can 
befall  a  people.  In  the  same  ratio  that  the  forests 
disappear,  the  waters  of  a  land  diminish. 

Every  tree  is  a  perennial  spring,  small  though  the 
quantity  of  water  may  be  which  each  one  represents. 
Trees  are  not  only  the  fountainheads  or  sources  of 
springs  and  streams,  but  also  the  medium  through 
which  soil  can  be  retained  on  sloping  and  precipitous 
ground. 

Mountains  that  have  been  denuded  of  their  forests 
lose  their  soil.  It  is  washed  down  into  the  valleys; 
the  rains  gradually  diminish  or  cease  altogether  in 
such  localities;  the  mountain  sides  become  barren,  hot 
rock  reflectors  whose  intense  heat  renders  the  valleys 
in  turn  arid  and  non-productive. 

It  is  also  a  well-established  scientific  fact  that 
where  forests  decrease,  tornadoes  increase.  Without 
forests  there  can  be  little  or  no  sources  for  irrigation 
in  a  land. 

4  There  are  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  of  Northern 
Africa,  of  Greece,"  says  Mr.  G.  P.  Marsh,  "  and 
even  of  Alpine  Europe,  where  the  operation  of  causes 
set  in  action  by  man  has  brought  the  face  of  the  Earth 
to  a  desolation  almost  as  complete  as  that  of  the 
moon;  and  though,  within  that  brief  space  of  time 


FORESTRY  123 

men  call  the  historical  period,  they  are  known  to  have 
been  covered  with  luxuriant  woods,  verdant  pastures, 
and  fertile  meadows.  .  .  .  The  destructive  changes 
occasioned  by  the  agency  of  man  upon  the  flanks  of 
the  Alps,  the  Apennines,  the  Pyrenees,  and  other 
mountain  ranges  in  central  and  southern  Europe,  and 
the  progress  of  physical  deterioration,  have  become  so 
rapid  that,  in  some  localities,  a  single  generation  has 
witnessed  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  melan- 
choly revolution. 

"  It  is  certain  that  a  desolation  like  that  which  has 
overwhelmed  many  once  beautiful  and  fertile  regions 
of  Europe  awaits  an  important  part  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States,  unless  prompt  measures  are 
taken  to  check  the  action  of  destructive  causes  already 
in  operation." 

The  reclamation  through  irrigation  of  the  vast 
areas  of  arid  land  in  the  United  States  will  be  im- 
possible unless  forests  are  re-established  and  per- 
manently maintained  on  its  mountains  and  in  all 
localities  and  districts  throughout  the  country  which 
are  the  head-waters  or  sources  of  its  springs  and 
streams. 

A  permanent  system  of  forestry  should  be  estab- 
lished and  maintained  by  the  State,  like  that,  for 


i24  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

example,  which  is  maintained  by  the  German  Empire 
to-day. 

A  quarter  of  the  Empire  of  Germany  is  covered 
with  forests  whose  cost  of  maintenance  is  met  in  great 
part  by  the  mere  thinnings  and  prunings  of  the  grow- 
ing woodlands.  For  more  than  a  thousand  years 
the  city  of  Zurich  in  Switzerland  has  owned  a  forest 
which  has  been  so  carefully  tended  that  it  has  sup- 
plied a  definite  amount  of  lumber  each  year  through- 
out the  centuries,  and  yet  it  is  in  better  condition 
to-day  than  when  it  was  originally  placed  under  a 
definite  system  of  forestry. 

The  highroads  of  the  country,  the  courses  of  rivers 
and  streams,  and  the  margins  of  lakes  and  other 
bodies  of  water,  natural  and  artificial,  belonging  to 
the  State,  should  be  lined  with  trees,  while  large 
areas  of  the  plains  and  prairie-lands  should  be  con- 
verted into  forests. 

Artesian  wells  should  be  sunk  wherever  possible 
in  arid  districts;  reservoirs  and  artificial  lakes  should 
be  constructed  by  damming  mountain  gorges  and 
natural  water  basins  of  the  plains,  thus  catching  and 
preserving  the  incalculable  quantities  of  snow  and 
rain  water  which  are  annually  lost  and  wasted,  owing 
to  the  lack  of  such  storage  basins. 

A  beginning  has  already  been  made  in  this  direc- 


FORESTRY  125 

tion  by  the  United  States  Government,  but  only  a 
beginning. 

By  such  a  systematic  increase  and  preservation  of 
the  forests  and  by  the  storage  of  waters,  the  percent- 
age of  moisture  will  be  increased  and  more  equally 
distributed  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land.  The  vast  arid  regions  of  the  country  will  be 
conquered,  and  the  desert  compelled  to  blossom  with 
fruit  and  grain. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  cannot  act  too 
quickly  in  the  matter  of  the  preservation  and  the 
increase  of  their  forests. 

"  A  third  of  this  country  was  originally  covered 
with  what  were,  all  in  all,  the  most  magnificent  for- 
ests of  the  globe — a  million  square  miles  of  timber 
land.  In  the  short  time,  as  time  counts  in  the  life 
of  nations,  that  we  have  been  here,  we  have  all  but 
reached  the  end  of  them. 

"  We  have  thought  it  unimportant  until  lately  that 
we  have  been  destroying  by  fire  as  much  timber  as  we 
have  used.  But  we  have  now  reached  the  point 
where  the  growth  of  our  forests  is  but  one-third  of 
the  annual  cut,  while  we  have  in  store  timber  enough 
for  only  twenty  years  at  our  present  rate  of  use.  This 
wonderful  development,  which  would  have  been  im- 


126  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

possible  without  the  cutting  of  the  forests,  has 
brought  us  where  we  really  face  their  absolute  ex- 
haustion within  the  present  generation.  ...  A  tim- 
ber famine  will  touch  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
all  the  land;  it  will  affect  the  daily  life  of  every  one 
of  us;  and  yet  without  consideration,  without  fore- 
cast, and  without  foresight,  we  have  placed  ourselves 
in  a  position  where  a  timber  famine  is  one  of  the  in- 
evitable events  of  our  near  future. 

"  Canada  cannot  supply  us,  for  she  will  need  her 
timber  herself.  Siberia  cannot  supply  us,  for  the  tim- 
ber is  too  far  from  water  transportation.  South 
America  cannot  supply  us,  because  the  timbers  of  that 
vast  continent  are  of  a  different  character  from  those 
we  use,  and  ill  adapted  to  our  needs. 

'  We  must  suffer  because  we  have  carelessly  wasted 
this  great  condition  of  success.  .  .  .  Forest  de- 
struction means  far  more  than  the  mere  loss  of  wood. 
.  .  .  With  the  denudation  of  the  forests  the  rain- 
fall, instead  of  being  taken  up  by  the  earth  and  turned 
out  again  in  perennial  springs,  rushes  away  to  the 
sea,  carrying  millions  of  wealth  before  it.  ...  The 
soil  which  is  washed  from  the  surface  of  our  farms 
every  year  to  the  amount  of  a  billion  tons,  making, 
with  the  further  loss  of  fertilizing  elements  carried 
away  in  solution,  the  heaviest  tax  the  farmer  has  to 


FORESTRY  127 

pay,  may  in  the  course  of  centuries  be  replaced  by 
the  chemical  disintegration  of  the  rock;  but  it  is  de- 
cidedly wiser  to  keep  what  we  have  by  careful 
methods  of  cultivation. 

"  We  may  very  profitably  stop  putting  our  farms 
into  our  streams,  to  be  dug  out  at  great  expense 
through  river  and  harbor  appropriations.  Fertile 
soil  is  not  wanted  in  the  bed  of  a  stream,  and  it  is 
wanted  on  the  surface  of  the  soil  of  the  farms  and  the 
forest-covered  slopes  of  the  mountains;  yet  we  spend 
millions  upon  millions  of  dollars  every  year  removing 
from  our  rivers  what  ought  never  to  have  got  into 
them."  * 

"  Experts  tell  us  that,  aside  from  Alaska,  the 
present  forest  remnants  of  the  United  States  contain 
only  about  1,300  billion  feet  of  timber,  broad  meas- 
ure, which  is  less  than  seventeen  times  our  annual 
consumption.  From  1890  to  1900  the  lumber  busi- 
ness of  the  country  increased  94  per  cent.  ...  If 
the  increase  from  1900  to  1910  be  anything  nearly 
as  great,  where  shall  we  be  in  1920?  Unless  some- 
thing radical  is  done,  and  done  at  once,  this  nation 
will  soon  be  at  the  summer  solstice  of  its  civilization. 

*  An   address  to  the   National   Geographic  Society,  January  31, 
1908,  by  Gifford  Pinchot. 


128  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

"  Nations  die  with  their  forests.  The  experience 
of  the  world  goes  to  show  that  no  civilized  nation 
can  live  without  timber. 

"Where  are  Phoenicia,  Assyria,  and  Babylonia? 
One  by  one  they  sank  with  the  setting  shadows  of 
their  disappearing  forests.  As  the  forests  were  swept 
from  the  basins  and  water-sheds  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates,  the  sands  of  the  deserts  were  carried  by 
the  winds  over  the  valleys,  while  the  soil  of  the  hills 
was  swept  by  floods  to  the  Arabian  Sea.  So  too, 
Palestine  and  northern  Africa  were  destroyed  by  de- 
forestation and  erosion."  * 

The  same  fate  which  overwhelmed  the  Ancients, 
and  which  is  to-day  overtaking  Italy  and  Spain, 
Greece,  Asia  Minor,  and  vast  areas  of  India  and 
China,  will  overtake  us  also  very  shortly  if  the  wan- 
ton devastation  of  our  forests  does  not  cease  imme- 
diately. 

"  In  the  home  of  the  fir,  the  spruce,  and  the  cedar, 
the  song  of  the  ax,  the  saw,  and  the  hammer  begins 
with  the  dawn  and  rests  only  with  the  close  of  the 
day.  Go  where  you  will,  the  crop  of  the  centuries  is 

*  Professor   W.    G.   M.   Stone,   President   of   the   Colorado   State 
Forestry  Association. 


FORESTRY  129 

being  harvested.     With  each  breath  a  monarch  of 
the  forest  falls. 

"  Engines  whistle  to  engines,  as  the  huge  trunks  of 
these  noble  trees  are  dragged  to  the  water  or  to  the 
railroad;  the  locomotive  whistles  to  the  mill,  as  it 
comes  with  long  trains  of  the  wealth  of  our  forests; 
and  the  mill  whistles  back  to  the  locomotive,  as  its 
saws  sing  while  they  work;  steamers  for  coastwise  and 
trains  for  eastern  markets  whistle  back  to  the  mill, 
as  they  hasten  for  its  product;  the  deep-loaded  ship 
spreads  its  sail,  and  the  winds  waft  our  lumber  to 
the  four  corners  of  the  Earth.  .  .  .  But  is  there 
no  other  note  in  the  song?  Do  these  people  e^er 
think? 

4  They  are  leaving  nearly  half  of  the  crop  in  the 
woods  to  be  burned,  and  burning,  destroy  more ;  and 
for  the  half  they  are  marketing  they  are  obtaining 
no  proper  equivalent.  They  are  leaving  the  ground  a 
desolate,  fire-swept  waste,  where  fire  will  follow  fire, 
until  all  things  valuable  have  been  destroyed.  They 
are  taking  to  themselves  the  whole  of  the  heritage  in- 
trusted to  them,  and  in  return  are  not  even  scattering 
a  few  seeds  for  the  benefit  of  their  children. 

'  They  are  vandals,  but  no  law  can  reach  them. 
They  would  be  adjudged  insane,  except  for  the  neces- 
sity which  governs.  The  sacred  right  of  property  is 


130  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

theirs,  and  they  can  do  what  they  will  with  their 
own."  * 

It  has  been  noted  in  South  America  that  clouds 
generally  hang  over  forest  lands.  Thus  in  regions 
of  the  Cordilleras  heavy  clouds  may  frequently  be 
seen,  pouring  their  rain  upon  the  forests  beneath 
them,  while  over  the  neighboring  agricultural  lands 
the  sky  is  blue  and  the  sun  is  shining.  The  same 
phenomenon  may  be  witnessed  any  time  during  the 
summer  months  in  the  semi-arid  regions  of  our 
Western  country. 

The  great  trees  of  the  forest,  for  example,  those 
of  the  Pacific  slope,  should  not  be  cut  down  until 
actual  decay  renders  such  action  imperative.  They 
are  the  guardians,  the  well-springs,  the  life-givers  of 
the  forest,  creating  and  preserving  the  greater  quan- 
tities of  water  and  moisture  necessary  to  sustain  the 
younger  growth  of  trees. 

A  comparison  of  the  continent  of  North  America 
as  it  is  now,  with  the  North  America  of  the  early 
explorers,  covered  with  magnificent  forests  unsur- 
passed in  the  history  of  the  planet,  proves  conclusively 
that  the  White  Man  and  his  modern  inventions  are 

*  Colonel  George  H.  Emerson,  Vice-President  Northwestern  Lum- 
ber Company,  Washington.    American  Forest  Congress,  1905. 


FORESTRY  131 

most  destructive  agents  of  natural  conditions  and  of 
true  civilization. 

Much  unnecessary  loss  of  timber  is  caused  annu- 
ally by  forest  fires.  Careless  or  malicious  people  are 
undoubtedly  responsible  for  some  of  these  conflagra- 
tions, but  the  greater  number  of  them  are  directly 
due  to  sparks  from  railroad  engines.  The  Public 
should  insist  that  the  railroads  guard  against  such 
destruction. 

As  far  as  possible,  metals  and  other  materials 
should  be  used  in  place  of  wood,  since  the  chief  value 
of  the  forests  is  for  preserving  moisture,  conserving 
the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  supplying  man  with  wood 
for  natural  uses. 


XI 

WATER 

OTNCE  water  is  as  essential  to  man  as  the  air  he 
breathes,  the  individual  should  not  be  permitted 
to  exploit  it  for  commercial  purposes. 

Like  all  the  other  natural  resources  of  the  Earth 
it  should  be  declared  free  to  all,  whatever  the  pur- 
poses for  which  it  may  be  employed. 

The  State  and  Communities  should  control  and 
dispose  of  all  waters,  gathering  and  transmitting 
them  by  means  of  aqueducts  and  canals  erected  and 
maintained  through  the  medium  of  taxation  for  the 
purposes  of  irrigation,  the  supplying  of  towns  and 
cities,  &c. 

All  special  waters  of  whatever  nature  used  for 
bathing,  drinking,  medicinal  purposes,  &c.,  should 
be  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  State;  those 
making  use  of  them  being  charged  merely  the 
nominal  price  which  it  costs  to  maintain  establish- 
ments in  connection  with  such  waters,  or  for  gather- 
ing or  bottling  and  transporting  them. 

132 


WATER  133 

Those  who  wish  to  drink  of  and  bathe  in  such 
waters  without  paying  for  such  privileges  demanded 
by  the  State,  must  go  to  them,  drink  of  them  and 
bathe  in  them  as  best  they  can. 

The  individual  cannot  make  use  of  or  control  the 
power  obtained  from  natural  bodies  of  water,  or 
artificial  bodies  of  water  under  State  or  Communal 
control.  Only  the  State  or  Community  should  be 
allowed  to  use  and  control  it  for  the  common  good. 

All  acqueducts,  reservoirs,  canals,  &c.,  built  for 
the  purposes  of  irrigation  and  the  reclamation  of 
arid  lands,  or  used  as  highways  of  commerce,  must 
be  erected  and  controlled  by  the  State.  All  systems 
supplying  cities  and  other  communities  with  water 
must  be  constructed  and  maintained  by  those  com- 
munities. 

All  such  institutions  must  be  self-sustaining  and 
non-moneymaking  institutions,  the  consumer  being 
charged  only  the  exact  rate  per  cent  it  costs  the 
State  or  Community  to  maintain  them. 

Communities,  farms,  railroads,  factories,  and  other 
establishments,  wharfs  and  landing  places  used  for 
shipping  purposes  excepted,  should  not  be  allowed  to 
encroach  on  the  immediate  shores  of  streams  or  other 
bodies  of  water.  Any  establishment,  however,  which 
is  erected  and  maintained  by  the  State  or  Community 


134  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

for  the  benefit  of  the  Public  may  thus  encroach  upon 
the  water. 

This  prohibitive  law  would  not  only  prevent  the 
monopolization  of  any  such  bodies  of  water  by  the 
individual,  but  would  also  create  what  Nature  origi- 
nally designed — a  neutral  zone  or  highway,  free  and 
accessible  to  the  Public. 

This  is  man's  right  by  natural  law;  all  natural 
bodies  of  water  being  the  natural  reservoirs  and  high- 
ways of  a  land. 

Since  pure  water  is  as  essential  to  man  as  pure  air, 
the  contaminations  of  waters  should  be  prohibited  by 
the  State.  Most  waters  throughout  the  world  to-day 
are  so  contaminated  with  refuse  matter  that  it  is 
almost  certain  death  to  drink  of  them. 

The  freeing  and  purifying  of  Nature's  highways 
and  reservoirs,  the  springs,  streams,  and  lakes,  is  in- 
dispensable to  natural  conditions. 

Towns  and  cities,  factories,  vessels,  &c.,  must  de- 
vise other  means  of  disposing  of  their  sewage  and 
refuse  matter  than  through  the  medium  of  streams 
and  other  bodies  of  water. 

The  sewage  of  communities  should  either  be  col- 
lected in  a  common  reservoir  to  be  destroyed,  or 
every  house  should  be  equipped  with  a  special  furnace 


WATER  135 

for  receiving  all  sewage  and  refuse  matter,  and  de- 
stroying it  daily  by  the  mechanical  means  of  fire  or 
electricity. 

All  vessels  should  be  equipped  with  similar  fur- 
naces. Such  contrivances  are  simple  enough;  they 
should  have  been  adopted  long  ago. 

ICE 

Ice,  like  water,  being  a  natural  product  of  the 
Earth,  it  should  be  equally  free  to  all,  and  if  obtained 
from  natural  bodies  of  water,  or  artificial  bodies  of 
water  under  State  or  Communal  control,  it  should 
not  be  sold. 

The  individual  should  be  allowed  to  cut  it  freely 
from  all  such  bodies  of  water  for  himself  or  for 
others;  but  the  person  who  gathers  ice  for  others 
receives  merely  the  price  they  are  willing  to  pay  him 
for  his  labor  with  no  remuneration  for  the  ice  itself. 

Anyone  wishing  to  create  an  artificial  pond  on  his 
lawful  portion  of  land  for  the  sake  of  the  ice  which 
he  may  obtain  from  it  during  the  winter  to  sell  to 
the  Public,  may  do  so. 

In  all  such  cases,  the  owner  may  dispose  of  his 
ice  for  the  highest  price  he  can  get  for  it  in  the 
market,  just  as  he  would  sell  any  other  products 
obtained  from  his  land. 


136  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

The  State  places  no  further  restrictions  upon  the 
gathering  of  ice  from  natural  bodies  of  water,  or 
from  artificial  bodies  of  water  under  State  or  Com- 
munal control,  than  that  of  preventing  individuals 
from  monopolizing  the  supply. 

NATURAL  GAS 

Since  natural  gas  is  available  only  in  the  locality 
or  immediate  vicinity  where  it  is  found,  it  should 
not  be  controlled  by  the  State,  but  by  the  Community 
where  it  exists. 

Its  supply  cannot  be  exploited  or  controlled  by  the 
individual,  but  only  by  the  Community  for  the  Com- 
munal good. 


XII 

MINERALS 

/~T~SHE  baser  metals  and  minerals  should  be  distrib- 
uted after  the  same  manner  as  wood;  but  for 
the  distribution  of  gold,  silver,  platinum,  and  other 
precious  and  semi-precious  metals  and  minerals,  a  spe- 
cial method  must  be  employed. 

Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  gold  and  silver  are 
used  as  a  circulating  medium  called  money,  and  that 
man  holds  all  other  precious  and  semi-precious  metals 
and  minerals  at  a  premium,  their  distribution  might 
be  effected  in  the  same  manner  as  that  of  all  other 
natural  products  of  the  Earth. 

The  assumption  by  man  that  they  should  be  held 
at  a  premium  is,  of  course,  not  justifiable.  They 
should,  in  reality,  be  as  free  to  all  as  are  any  other 
of  the  Earth's  natural  resources.  But  since  the  facts 
are  as  they  are,  and  since  the  values  placed  upon  them 
are  purely  fictitious  and  not  in  any  sense  intrinsic,  it 
follows  that,  In  order  to  control  their  supply,  the 
State  must  dispose  of  them  at  the  highest  price  they 
will  bring  in  their  rough  state. 

137 


i38  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Only  the  absolute  necessities  of  life,  such  as  land, 
water,  wood,  iron,  &c.,  possess  an  intrinsic  value. 
Nothing  else  viewed  from  a  material  standpoint  has 
a  value  in  itself.  It  is  only  the  imaginative  value 
we  place  upon  a  thing  which  raises  it  in  our  estima- 
tion. 

Gold  as  a  substance  possesses  no  more  value  than 
coal  or  iron.  The  beauty  of  gold  as  a  metal  is 
supreme,  its  utility  but  limited;  while  as  regards  its 
real  worth  or  usefulness,  a  single  bar  of  steel  or  a 
well-seasoned  beam  of  oak  is  of  more  value  to  man- 
kind than  a  mountain  of  pure  gold.  But  so  long  as 
men  continue  to  place  a  fictitious  value  upon  gold 
and  all  other  precious  and  semi-precious  metals  and 
minerals,  just  so  long  should  they  continue  to  pay 
for  the  extravagance  of  their  fancies,  and  procure 
them  from  the  State  only  at  the  full  market  price 
they  command  in  their  natural  condition. 

With  this  exception,  their  distribution  should  be 
the  same  as  that  of  the  other  natural  products  of  the 
Earth. 

All  mineral  deposits  found  on  land  already  occu- 
pied by  individuals,  if  they  are  in  sufficient  quantities 
to  warrant  their  development,  must  be  surrendered 
to  the  State.  Other  land  should  be  provided  for 
all  such  persons,  and  full  compensation  made  them 


MINERALS  139 

for  any  losses  they  may  sustain  in  thus  surrendering 
their  land. 

Whenever  necessary,  the  State  should  offer  a  lib- 
eral bonus  for  the  discovery  of  new  mineral  deposits 
in  sufficient  quantities  to  warrant  their  develop- 
ment. 

Naturally  these  general  laws  concerning  the  dis- 
tribution and  control  of  minerals  apply  only  to  such 
deposits  as  will  reimburse  the  State  for  the  expense 
entailed  to  work  them  for  the  convenience  of  the 
Public. 

Once  the  individual  has  obtained  the  raw  product 
from  the  State,  and  has  smelted  it,  or  had  it  smelted 
by  others,  he  may  dispose  of  the  metal  or  refined 
product  as  he  pleases.  He  may  turn  it  to  such  use 
as  is  necessary  to  supply  his  wants,  or  he  may  sell  or 
barter  it. 

The  statement  that  he  may  sell  or  barter  it  may 
appear  at  first  glance  to  contradict  the  preceding  argu- 
ment; but  that  is  not  the  case. 

The  minerals  are  a  part  of  man's  birthright.  He 
cannot  buy,  sell,  rent,  or  tax  them  in  their  rough  state. 
He  may,  however,  dispose  of  metals  and  other  min- 
erals after  he  has  smelted  or  refined  them  from  his 
free  portion  of  minerals,  just  as  he  is  permitted  to  dis- 
pose of  the  agricultural  products  which  his  portion 


i4o  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

of  land  yields  him,  or  the  bricks,  crockery,  tiles,  &c., 
made  from  the  clay  of  that  land. 

The  minimum  price  demanded  by  the  State  for 
minerals  would  practically  mean  free  access  for  the 
individual  to  them,  and  would  in  turn  have  the  direct 
result  of  reviving  the  hand-industries  in  connection 
with  metallurgy,  the  craft  of  gold  and  silver  smith- 
ing, and  the  work  of  artificers  in  iron,  copper,  brass, 
&c. 

As  for  mineral  deposits  not  worked  by  the  State, 
any  person  living  in  the  vicinity  of  such  deposits  may 
take  his  lawful  portion  of  minerals  from  them  as 
freely  as  he  supplies  himself  with  his  lawful  portion 
of  wood.  But  he  cannot  monopolize  the  deposits, 
nor  can  he  sell  or  otherwise  dispose  of  the  raw  prod- 
ucts. 

For  example — an  individual  without  means  who 
wishes  coal  and  knows  where  to  find  it,  is  privileged 
to  take  enough  to  supply  his  immediate  wants. 

Again,  if  he  wants  his  free  portion  of  minerals  of 
whatever  nature,  from  iron  to  gold,  he  must  dig  it, 
smelt  or  refine  it  himself  without  the  assistance  of 
anyone. 

Or,  should  anyone  wish  to  follow  the  vocation  of 
collecting  precious  and  semi-precious  minerals,  he 
may  do  so.  In  which  event,  he  can  make  use  only 


MINERALS  141 

of  hand  implements,  and  cannot  accept  or  employ  the 
aid  of  anyone  else  in  connection  with  his  work.  And 
all  minerals  gathered  after  such  manner  cannot  be 
disposed  of  in  their  rough  state  unless  in  the  form 
of  nuggets  and  stones. 

The  individual  may,  therefore,  dispose  of  the  baser 
minerals  which  he  has  dug,  in  their  refined  state  if 
he  himself  refines  them.  The  precious  and  semi- 
precious minerals  he  can  only  dispose  of  in  their 
rough  state  if  found  in  the  form  of  stones  and 
nuggets,  and  dust  or  flakes. 

The  amount  of  gold  found  in  nuggets,  panned  and 
washed  from  the  soil  and  streams  with  hand  imple- 
ments, precious  and  semi-precious  stones  collected,  or 
the  amount  of  ore  dug  and  smelted  by  a  single  person 
in  a  kiln  of  his  own,  would  be  infinitesimally  small 
in  proportion  to  the  amount  obtained  from  the  State 
by  the  general  Public. 

It  would  in  no  wise,  as  might  at  first  be  supposed, 
seriously  affect  general  trade  or  industry  carried  for- 
ward through  the  medium  of  minerals  obtained  from 
the  State.  And  this  for  two  very  good  reasons. 

The  individual  could  not  control  and  hold  as  his 
own  any  mineral  deposits  from  which  he  obtained 
his  free  portion  of  minerals,  because  they  are  as  free 
to  all  others  as  to  him. 


i42  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

And  secondly,  practically  only  those  living  in  the 
vicinity  of  unutilized  deposits  would  make  use  of  the 
privilege  of  exploiting  their  free  portion  of  minerals. 
The  position  of  all  such  persons  would  be  practically 
the  same  as  that  of  the  individual  who  desired  his 
free  portion  of  wood. 

Besides,  the  more  individuals  assumed  the  respon- 
sibility of  procuring  their  own  free  portion  of  min- 
erals without  monopolizing  the  deposits,  the  better 
it  would  be,  and  the  less  the  State  would  be  burdened 
with  the  supervision  of  the  same.  One  other  consid- 
eration should  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  discussing  the 
use  of  wood  and  minerals;  namely,  the  amount  which 
may  legitimately  be  placed  at  the  individual's  dis- 
posal for  the  purposes  of  trade  and  industry. 

The  more  commercialized  man  becomes,  the  more 
prodigal  and  wasteful  he  is  with  the  Earth's  natural 
resources.  Nature  places  at  his  disposal  wood  and 
minerals  enough  to  meet  the  requirements  of  a  simple 
normal  life.  If  the  individual  uses  these  resources 
for  the  exploitation  of  his  commercial  interests  be- 
yond the  amount  required  for  the  normal  life  of 
man,  the  supply  must  inevitably  be  exhausted;  a  fact 
which  is  already  becoming  apparent  to  man,  owing 
to  his  present  wastefulness  and  extravagance. 

Like  the  land,  wood  and  minerals  were  originally 


MINERALS  143 

designed  for  the  nourishment  of  man,  not  for  the 
exploitation  of  commercial  enterprises  beyond  the 
simple  necessities  of  life. 

All  indications  go  to  show  that  the  Earth  has 
reached  the  zenith  of  her  development.  That  from 
now  on,  each  day  heralds  that  fate,  remote  though 
it  may  be,  which  must  inevitably  overtake  her:  the 
physical  conditions  existing  on  the  Moon  to-day. 

Therefore,  the  highest  duty  which  man  owes  his 
race  is  to  husband  to  the  utmost  the  Earth's  natural 
resources. 


XIII 

CONTROL   OF    THE    DISTRIBUTION   OF   THE    EARTH'S 
NATURAL  RESOURCES 

/^  RANTING  the  distribution  of  the  Earth's  nat- 
ural resources  in  the  manner  here  set  forth  to 
be  fair  and  rational,  the  question  naturally  arises:— 
How  can  the  supply  of  these  various  raw  products 
be  so  controlled  that  those  possessing  great  wealth 
may  not  be  able  to  monopolize  them? 

The  method  is  simple  enough. 

Take  the  coal  supply,  for  example.  The  output 
of  coal  mines  being  limited  by  their  working  capacity, 
the  management  of  a  mine  or  mines  can  pledge  itself 
to  supply  only  such  orders  in  the  aggregate  as  the 
annual  output  will  warrant. 

This  being  so,  the  management  through  its  various 
agents  should  accept  advance  orders  only  for  such 
an  amount  of  coal  as  equals  the  monthly  production 
of  the  mines. 

If  this  monthly  production  of  the  mines,  or  the 
monthly  supply  of  coal  on  hand  at  the  State  depots, 

144 


CONTROL  OF  EARTH'S   RESOURCES    145 

covers  the  full  amount  of  coal  represented  in  the 
applications  of  those  desiring  it,  their  demands  should 
be  satisfied  in  full.  If,  however,  the  supply  proves 
insufficient,  the  agent  of  the  State  should  allow  each 
applicant  only  a  proportionate  amount  of  the  entire 
supply  according  to  his  order. 

A  demand  for  one  or  for  a  thousand  tons  of  coal 
could  thus  be  met  at  one  and  the  same  time,  whether 
in  whole  or  proportionally  in  part,  according  to  the 
annual  production  of  the  mines. 

This  same  method  should  be  applied  to  the  dis- 
tribution of  all  other  natural  resources  of  the  Earth, 
land,  of  course,  excepted. 

Under  such  circumstances  the  monopolization  by 
the  individual  of  the  Earth's  natural  resources,  no 
matter  how  great  his  wealth,  would  be  impossible. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  amounts  of  raw  products 
ordered  by  the  individual  would  be  a  matter  of 
record,  and  that,  therefore,  if  anyone  appeared  to 
be  ordering  greater  quantities  of  such  products  than 
were  required  by  the  legitimate  and  actual  demands 
of  his  profession  or  business,  it  would  be  easy  for 
the  State  officials  to  investigate  the  matter. 

A  further  advantage  resulting  from  the  State  con- 
trolling in  such  fashion  the  distribution  of  the  Earth's 
natural  resources,  would  lie  in  the  fact  that  no  branch 


i46  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

of  trade  or  industry  could  monopolize  the  raw  sup- 
ply to  the.  detriment  of  the  general  Public,  should  a 
shortage  occur  in  any  such  products. 

The  natural  resources  of  the  Earth  were  designed 
for  all  the  People,  not  for  any  special  groups  of 
individuals  engaged  in  particular  industries.  Under 
such  a  system  as  has  been  described  the  State  would  be 
obliged  to  safeguard  this  natural  right  of  the  People. 

The  State  should  be  empowered,  upon  the  consent 
of  the  majority  of  the  People,  to  appropriate  ade- 
quate sums  from  the  National  Treasury  whenever 
required  for  the  development  of  forests,  mines,  &c., 
and  for  the  construction  of  public  utilities;  but  it 
may  not  acquire  a  penny's  worth  of  revenue  from  the 
control  of  the  Earth's  natural  resources  or  from  public 
utilities.  Otherwise,  the  State  itself  would  become  a 
tyrannical  monopolist. 

The  national  revenues  should  be  raised  through 
the  medium  of  voluntary  taxation  on  the  part  of  the 
People,  not  by  the  unlawful  method  of  bartering 
away  the  Earth's  natural  resources,  which  cannot  be 
bought,  sold,  taxed,  or  rented. 

As  already  stated,  all  public  utilities  and  institu- 
tions, as  well  as  the  control  and  distribution  of  the 
Earth's  natural  resources,  must  be  maintained  at  a 
minimum  cost. 


CONTROL  OF  EARTH'S   RESOURCES    147 

Naturally  the  guarding  and  preservation  of  the 
Earth's  natural  resources  would  require  the  strictest 
vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  State. 

All  persons  found  guilty  of  monopolizing  or  de- 
stroying the  Earth's  natural  resources,  or  of  con- 
taminating or  polluting  waters,  should  be  punished 
with  a  fine  or  imprisonment  or  both  for  a  first  offense, 
with  the  confiscation  of  their  entire  personal  property, 
and  imprisonment  for  a  second  offense,  and  with 
death  for  a  third  offense. 

The  penalties  inflicted  upon  all  such  transgressors 
of  the  law  should  be  severe,  for  the  reason  that  he 
who  robs  man  of  his  birthright,  by  that  very  act 
proves  himself  an  enemy  to  society  and  to  the  human 
race. 


XIV 

PUBLIC  UTILITIES 

A  LL  public  utilities,  such  as  railroads  and  canals, 
with  the  express,  telegraph,  and  telephone  sys- 
tems which,  like  the  postal  service,  have  become  con- 
venient and  necessary  means  of  communication  and 
transportation,  should  be  owned  and  controlled  by 
the  State. 

They  should  be  thus  owned  and  controlled  for  two 
reasons.  First:  because  of  the  magnitude  of  their 
operation  which  would  require  more  ground  space 
than  any  individual  could  hold,  and  second:  because, 
as  all  experience  teaches,  such  institutions,  when  left 
in  the  hands  of  private  individuals,  inevitably  become 
excessive  forms  of  monopoly. 

In  like  manner  the  water-works  and  lighting  plants 
of  towns  and  cities,  together  with  all  other  merely 
local  public  utilities,  should  be  owned  and  controlled 
by  the  Communities  which  they  serve. 

State  or  Municipal  ownership  of  these  various  utili- 
ties has  already  been  adopted  to  a  limited  extent  in 

148 


PUBLIC  UTILITIES  149 

different  parts  of  the  world.  They  have  been  man- 
aged, however,  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  Public,  but 
merely  as  sources  of  revenue  for  the  State  or  Com- 
munity. 

If  the  Public  is  to  derive  from  the  Communal 
ownership  of  such  institutions  the  full  benefit  to  which 
it  is  entitled,  the  State  or  Municipality  should  charge 
merely  such  rates  as  will  enable  these  public  utilities 
to  be  equipped  and  maintained  in  the  most  complete 
and  serviceable  manner.  Otherwise  they  would  as- 
sume the  form  of  monopolies,  and  the  State  and 
Municipal  monopoly  of  a  public  utility  is  hardly  more 
desirable  than  the  private  monopoly. 

Were  these  institutions  treated  as  mediums  of 
public  convenience  only,  the  necessary  means  of  com- 
munication and  transportation  could  be  secured  by 
the  Public  at  a  minimum  expense. 

The  railroads,  for  example,  could  deliver  to  the 
consumer  all  raw  and  refined  products  of  the  Earth, 
as  well  as  all  other  articles  of  trade  and  commerce, 
at  much  lower  rates  than  would  be  possible  if  the 
roads  were  maintained  by  the  State  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  revenue. 

There  can  be  no  question  regarding  the  justice  of 
this  argument.  Railroads  have  become  as  much  pub- 
lic necessities  as  the  highroads  of  a  country,  and 


150  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

should,  therefore,  be  no  more  regarded  as  sources  of 
revenue  than  the  latter. 

The  maintenance  of  railroads,  &c.,  as  simple  me- 
diums of  public  convenience,  dependent  entirely  upon 
public  patronage  for  their  support,  would  free  the 
Public  of  any  unnecessary  burden  or  expense  con- 
nected with  their  management.  They  would  stand 
or  fall  according  as  the  Public  patronized  or  neg- 
lected them. 

The  object  of  this  work  is  to  show  how  easily  man 
may  create  and  maintain  for  himself  a  natural  earthly 
condition,  entirely  self-sustaining  and  independent  of 
all  complicated  inventions,  provided  he  possesses  the 
simple  implements  necessary  to  clothe  and  nourish 
himself. 

When  once  such  natural  conditions  prevail,  the 
present  overcrowded  centers  of  population,  trade,  and 
commerce,  will  become  decentralized,  and  the  popula- 
tion will  be  more  equally  distributed  throughout  the 
country.  Large  cities  will  be  reduced  to  normal  size, 
and  towns  and  villages  will  increase  in  number. 

Owing  to  this  normal  distribution  of  population 
and  the  resulting  centralization  of  communities,  the 
markets  for  both  agricultural  products  and  manufac- 
tured articles  will  lie  nearer  their  sources  of  pro- 
duction; and,  as  a  consequence,  the  highroads  of 


PUBLIC  UTILITIES  151 

the  country  will  assume  greater  importance  and  use- 
fulness as  natural  mediums  of  communication  and 
transportation,  while  the  railroads  will  be  used  chiefly 
by  travelers,  for  carrying  the  mails,  and  all  products 
requiring  swift  transportation,  and  for  long  distance 
freight  hauls. 


XV 

WILD  ANIMALS 

/"\NE  of  the  surest  signs  of  a  nation's  decay  is  the 
wanton  destruction  of  its  eagles,  for  with  them 
perish  the  ideals  which  the  eagle  has  symbolized 
through  all  the  centuries  of  recorded  history. 

"  The  world,"  says  Kipling,  "  will  be  ghastly  and 
unpicturesque  if  ever  man  succeeds  in  being  the  only 
beast  left  to  range  up  and  down  the  planet."  Yet 
that  day  is  not  far  remote  unless  an  end  is  speedily 
put  to  the  present  reckless  destruction  of  animal  life 
by  fur  companies,  sportsmen,  and  game-dealers. 

Only  those  who  have  journeyed  from  the  Missouri 
River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  or  from  the  Mexican 
border  to  the  Saskatchewan  River  during  the  early 
days  of  our  civilization  can  realize  the  high  carnival 
of  slaughter  which  has  been  directed  against  the  wild 
animals  of  the  North  American  continent  during  the 
last  century. 

Where  are  the  deer,  elk,  buffalo,  antelope,  moun- 
tain-sheep, and  wild  horses  which  once  roamed  the 
mountains  and  prairies  in  countless  numbers?  Where 

152 


WILD  ANIMALS  153 

are  the  martin,  mink,  beaver,  and  otter  which  in- 
habited the  forests  and  streams?  Where  are  the 
grouse,  quail,  duck,  geese,  wild-swan,  pigeon,  and 
turkey  which  were  once  found  in  all  parts  of  the  land  ? 

Thanks  to  commercial  enterprise,  to  fur  companies, 
and  sportsmen,  to  "  tourists  and  pistol-flourishing 
cowboys  who  emptied  their  Winchesters  or  Colts  at 
a  retreating  herd  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  without 
even  taking  the  trouble  to  go  a  step  out  of  their  way 
to  put  wounded  beasts  out  of  their  misery,"  they 
have  been  reduced  to  the  verge  of  extinction. 

Where  once  the  presence  and  the  voices  of  the  wild 
flocks  and  herds  enlivened  the  wilderness,  the  silence 
of  death  and  wail  of  the  wind  now  reign  in  their 
stead. 

Only  game-dealers  and  those  interested  in  the  fur- 
trade  know  the  actual  number  of  wild  animals  that 
are  annually  killed  for  the  markets.  Their  methods 
are  so  systematic  that  not  a  feather  or  a  hair  escapes 
them.  They  regularly  employ  thousands  of  men 
equipped  with  the  latest  improved  weapons  who  fol- 
low the  game  constantly,  even  the  migratory  flight  of 
birds,  year  in  and  year  out,  giving  it  no  rest. 

"  While  it  is  true  that  in  certain  specially  favored 
localities,  such  as  Long  Island  Sound,  Chesapeake 


154  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Bay,  and  certain  Southern  waters,  wild  fowl  still  con- 
gregate in  very  large  numbers,  it  is  beyond  question 
that  in  recent  years  their  numbers  have  notably  and 
painfully  decreased  in  most  localities,  and  over  vast 
areas  have  all  but  disappeared. 

"  In  our  Eastern  and  Middle  States  several  species 
of  ducks  which  once  were  common  are  now  practically 
gone.  Such  are  the  blue-winged  and  green-winged 
teals,  also  shoveler,  bald-pate,  gadwall,  buffle-head, 
ruddy,  and  wood-ducks.  This  last  species  is  declared 
by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  to  be  on  the  verge 
of  extinction. 

"  Within  my  own  recollection  several  of  these  were 
common  in  Massachusetts  in  the  fall  flight;  now  the 
hunter  can  hardly  find  a  flock  or  two  during  the  en- 
tire season.  In  many  inland  localities  where  not  very 
long  ago  there  was  good  shooting,  all  the  edible  ducks 
have  become  so  scarce  that  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to 
hunt  them.  Men  will  wait  for  days  in  the  best 
gunning-stands,  hardly  seeing  a  duck. 

"To  keep  our  wild-fowl  from  further  decrease; 
and  better,  to  increase  their  abundance,  it  is  vir- 
tually necessary  so  to  regulate  shooting  that  there 
shall  always  remain  each  spring  a  sufficient  breeding 
stock  to  these  wilderness  '  nurseries,'  certainly  in  no 
less  numbers  than  the  year  before. 


WILD  ANIMALS  155 

'  Various  restrictive  measures  which  are  now  in 
force  are  none  too  many  and  are  eminently  neces- 
sary. But  there  are  the  best  of  reasons  for  believ- 
ing that  the  thing  most  emphatically  needed  at  the 
present  time  is  the  absolute  stopping  of  spring  shoot- 
ing in  all  parts  of  the  country  .  .  .  spring  shooting 
adds  a  most  destructive  element. 

'  The  birds  become  tamer  and  tamer  as  the  breed- 
ing season  approaches,  and  decoy  more  readily,  so 
much  so  at  times  that  I  have  known  good  sportsmen 
declare  that  it  was  no  better  than  murder  to  shoot 
the  poor  love-lorn  things.  But  this  is  the  harvest 
time  for  the  pot-hunter  and  the  game-hog. 

"  Moreover,  if  even  one  member  of  a  pair  be  shot, 
it  is  believed  by  naturalists  that  the  survivor  is  liable 
not  to  secure  a  mate;  and  so  a  pair  is  prevented  from 
breeding,  even  by  the  killing  of  one  bird."* 

The  nature  of  this  work  and  a  lack  of  space  alike 
forbid  that  any  adequate  record  of  the  destruction 
of  wild  animal  life  should  be  recorded  in  these  pages. 
But  the  following  instances,  all  well  authenticated, 
will  serve  to  show  something  of  the  havoc  that  is 
being  wrought. 

*  Herbert   K.   Job,    Country   Life   in   America,   Vol.    IX,    No.   6, 
April,   1906. 


156  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

In  the  report  of  the  American  Ornithologist's 
Union,  published  some  years  ago,  it  was  estimated 
that  about  five  million  birds  were  annually  required 
to  fill  the  demand  for  the  ornamentation  of  the  hats 
of  American  women.  The  slaughter  is  not  confined 
to  song  birds;  everything  that  wears  feathers  is  a 
target  for  the  bird  butcher. 

"The  destruction  of  40,000  terns  in  a  single 
season  on  Cape  Cod  for  exportation,  a  million  rail 
and  reed  birds  (bobolinks)  killed  in  a  single  month 
near  Philadelphia,  are  facts  that  may  well  furnish 
food  for  reflection."  * 

"  About  10,000  deer,  200  moose,  and  countless 
birds  and  small  animals  were  killed  in  Maine  in  the 
season  that  ended  at  midnight  Tuesday,  December 
15,  1908,"  f  The  reports  for  1909  are  about  the 
same. 

Reports  show  that  3,235  deer,  moose,  and  cari- 
bou were  killed  during  the  open  season  of  1903  in 
Ontario,  Canada. 

There  are  five  thousand  men  annually  engaged  in 
seal  hunting  in  the  North  Atlantic  off  the  coasts  of 

*  Report  of  the  American  Ornithologist's  Union, 
t  "  Bangor,  Me.     Special  Despatch  to  New  York  Herald,  Decem- 
ber 17,  1908. 


WILD  ANIMALS  157 

Newfoundland  and  Labrador.     The  catch  averages 
from  250,000  to  300,000  seals  annually. 

"  The  seal  herd  of  the  Pribiloff  Islands,  which 
numbered  approximately  4,700,000  in  1874,  has  been 
reduced  to  224,000.* 

'  The  chief  special  agent  of  the  Department  of 
Commerce  and  Labor  confesses  that  the  startling  loss 
of  58  per  cent  of  virile  male  life  since  1904  on  the 
breeding  grounds  of  this  fur  seal  herd  is  so  great 
as  to  threaten  the  existence  of  the  species  itself." 

The  salmon  of  the  Pacific  Coast  is  also  surely 
doomed  to  extinction  owing  to  the  salmon  canning 
industries  and  the  methods  employed  in  catching  this 
noble  fish. 

There  are  no  less  than  five  thousand  boats  em- 
ployed in  catching  salmon  at  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia River  alone  during  the  height  of  the  season, 
and  these  boats  represent  so  many  great  seine  nets 
spread  across  the  mouth  of  the  river,  barring  ingress 
to  the  fish  which,  before  the  days  of  the  canning 
industry,  ascended  the  river  some  1,200  to  1,300 
miles  to  their  spawning  grounds,  to  the  source  of 
the  river — at  Upper  Columbia  Lake. 

*  Mr.    W.    G.    FitzGerald    in    the    Technical    World   Magazine, 
January,  1908,  places  the  number  at  about  180,000. 


158  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Immense  quantities  of  salmon  are  annually  caught 
in  these  nets,  but  the  wholesale  destruction  of  the  fish 
does  not  cease  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  The 
greater  number  of  the  fish  that  escape  the  nets  fall 
victims  to  the  innumerable  traps  or  salmon-wheels 
which  ensnare  them  on  their  way  up  the  river  to 
their  natural  spawning  grounds. 

In  1905  thirty-five  million  fish  were  shipped  from 
Alaska.  When  to  this  wholesale  destruction  is 
added  the  immense  catches  of  the  Columbia  River 
and  other  Pacific  salmonries,  it  is  evident  that  unless 
means  are  taken  to  restock  the  rivers,  the  salmon 
supply  will  soon  be  exhausted. 

Mr.  W.  G.  FitzGerald  estimates  the  annual  fur 
production  of  the  world  at  $25,000,000.  "  Consid- 
ering the  untold  millions  of  skins  taken  annually,  one 
is  apt  to  wonder  whether  the  supply  can  be  main- 
tained? True,  the  buffalo  as  a  fur  yielder  has  gone, 
and  the  beaver  is  practically  extinct.  The  sea  otter, 
too,  that  once  yielded  100,000  pelts  every  year,  has 
now  dwindled  to  a  few  hundreds  (400).  And  the 
fur  seal  is  fast  on  its  way  to  extinction.  .  .  .  The 
swamps  of  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  alone  yield 
three  million  muskrats  in  a  fairly  dry  season." 
Every  year  are  taken  from  the  woods  of  Maine 
"over  200  bears;  300  loups-cerviers;  700  otters; 


WILD  ANIMALS  159 

2,000  fisher  cats;  50,000  foxes;  75,000  skunks,  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  muskrats. 

"  In  one  season  there  will  come  on  the  market  260,- 
ooo  English  foxes;  300,000  Siberian;  625,000  Ger- 
man; 400,000  from  Russia  in  Europe;  120,000 
American  red  foxes,  and  some  60,000  Alaskan  foxes 
of  all  varieties. 

"  Over  600,000  nutria  skins  come  to  New  York 
every  year  from  Brazil  alone  " ;  while  "  700,000  mink 
are  exported  from  Canada  and  the  United  States 
to  European  markets.  ...  Of  raccoon,  over  half 
a  million  are  sent  from  our  Northwestern  States  to 
the  London  market.  .  .  .  Then  comes  the  badger, 
wolverine,  and  opossum.  In  the  case  of  the  last 
named,  we  send  another  half  million  pelts  to  Europe 
annually.  Muskrat,  squirrel,  and  rabbit  are  sold 
literally  in  millions."  * 

A  formidable  array  of  figures,  and  yet  the  voice 
of  the  People  is  not  raised  against  the  destruction  of 
Nature's  herds — the  Public's  stock  of  wild  animal 
life! 

Truly  the  White  Man  has  been  well  styled  the 
most  savage  and  destructive  of  all  sentient  beings. 

*"  Romance  of  the  Fur  Trade":  W.  G.  FitzGerald.     Technical 
World  Magazine,  January,  1908. 


160  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

"  Allow  me  to  revel  this  day,"  he  cries,  "  and  pos- 
terity with  all  things  else  may  perish." 

This  reckless  destruction  of  wild  life  brings,  in 
many  cases,  still  other  evils  in  its  train. 

Deer  and  elk  are  the  greatest  known  destroyers  of 
weeds,  while  owing  to  the  slaughter  of  grouse,  wild 
turkeys,  sage-hens,  and  other  birds,  the  crops  and 
pastures  of  many  of  the  Western  States  and  Provinces 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada  are  annually  threat- 
ened with  destruction  by  insects. 

"  It  is  clearly  established  that  a  fruit-grower  can- 
not expect  to  successfully  combat  insect  rivals  without 
the  help  of  his  winged  allies.  The  more  we  improve 
our  agricultural  methods  and  reduce  the  land  to  gar- 
den crops,  the  more  we  stimulate  the  development  of 
predatory  insects.  A  recent  writer  says,  '  We  believe 
that  not  only  is  the  success  of  our  farmers  dependent 
upon  the  help  of  birds,  but  we  believe  that  without 
them  man  would  have  to  vacate  the  land.' ' 

"  The  economic  value  of  birds  to  man,"  says  Mr. 
Frank  M.  Chapman,  "  lies  in  the  service  they  render 
in  preventing  the  undue  increase  of  insects,  in  de- 
vouring small  rodents,  in  destroying  the  seeds  of 

*"  Orchard  and  Fruit  Garden":  E.  P.  Powell,   1905. 


WILD  ANIMALS  161 

harmful  plants,  and  in  acting  as  scavengers.  .  .  . 
While  the  chickadees,  nuthatches,  wood-peckers,  and 
some  other  winter  birds  are  ridding  the  trees  of 
myriads  of  insects'  eggs  and  larvae,  the  granivorous 
birds  are  reaping  a  crop  of  seeds,  which,  if  left  to 
germinate,  would  cause  a  heavy  loss  to  our  agricul- 
tural interests." 

"  Sparrows  are  not  the  only  birds  that  consume  the 
seeds  of  weeds.  The  eastern  quail,  or  bobwhite,  is  a 
confirmed  eater  of  weed  seeds.  A  bevy  or  two  of 
quail  on  a  farm  is  an  asset  the  value  of  which  no 
thrifty  farmer  should  overlook.  Doves  also  are  seed 
eaters,  especially  the  turtle-dove.  .  .  .  Many  birds, 
as  fly-catchers,  warblers,  swallows,  and  chimney- 
swifts,  live  exclusively,  or  almost  so,  on  insects,  and 
very  many  more,  as  blackbirds,  orioles,  and  some 
hawks,  depend  on  them  for  a  considerable  part  of 
their  livelihood. 

'  The  little  sparrow-hawk  lives  largely  upon  grass- 
hoppers, crickets,  and  beetles  .  .  .  the  Swainson 
hawk  destroys  enough  of  these  injurious  insects,  to- 
gether with  small  rodents,  to  save  the  Western  farmer 
upwards  of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year.  .  .  . 
The  popular  idea  regarding  hawks  and  owls  is  that 
they  are  nothing  but  robbers  and  bold  maurauders. 


162  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

The  fact  is  that  the  great  majority  of  our  hawks  and 
owls  are  beneficial,  and  spend  the  greater  part  of 
their  lives  in  killing  small  rodents,  most  of  which  are 
always  and  everywhere  noxious."  * 

Hawks,  owls,  crows,  blackbirds,  and  jays,  which 
have  usually  been  counted  among  the  farmer's  ene- 
mies, have  proved  worthy  of  the  wages  they  exact 
in  corn  and  chickens  by  the  services  they  render  the 
agriculturist. 

The  State  of  Pennsylvania  awhile  ago  offered  a 
bounty  for  the  heads  of  owls  and  hawks  because 
farmers  complained  of  the  loss  of  their  chickens. 
Such  quantities  of  these  birds  were  killed  that  the 
field  mice  and  other  vermin  which  they  had  kept  in 
check  increased  so  rapidly  that  the  State  lost,  through 
their  depredations,  upwards  of  four  million  dollars 
in  a  year  and  a  half.  The  law  was  quickly  repealed, 
but  it  will  be  years  before  the  balance  can  be  restored. 
A  like  plea  may  be  made  for  the  much  abused  cherry- 
bird,  which  has  rescued  whole  villages  from  the  elm 
worm  plague  and,  in  so  doing,  has  certainly  earned 
the  right  to  a  little  fruit. 

"  Differing   widely   as   they   do   in   structure   and 

*  Henry  Wetherbee  Henshaw:  The  National  Geographic  Maga- 
zine, February,  1908. 


WILD  ANIMALS  163 

habits,  birds  collectively  are  able  in  man's  interests 
to  police  earth,  air,  and  water.  The  thrushes  and 
other  ground-feeders  scour  the  surface  of  the  earth 
and  hunt  under  leaves  for  hidden  insects.  The  war- 
blers, titmice,  nuthatches,  creepers,  and  others  search 
among  the  foliage  and  in  the  crevices  of  bark  for  all 
manner  of  creeping  things. 

"  The  woodpeckers  perform  a  service  no  other 
birds  are  equal  to. 

"  They  dig  into  wood  and  drag  forth  the  hidden 
larva?  that  prey  on  our  forest  monarchs.  .  .  .  The 
waters  too  and  their  shores  have  their  feathered  deni- 
zens which  exact  tribute  of  the  insect  world.  So 
that,  quite  aside  from  questions  of  sentiment,  birds 
must  be  adjudged  to  play  an  active  and  important 
part  in  keeping  nature's  balance  true." 

Many  of  our  leading  entomologists  estimate  that 
insects  and  other  vermin  cause  an  annual  loss  of  at 
least  five  hundred  million  dollars  to  the  agricultural 
interests  of  the  United  States.  This  statement  seems 
incredible,  but  it  is  based  upon  well  authenticated 
statistics. 

Why,  indeed,  should  the  sight  of  wild  creatures 
breed  in  man  the  lust  to  slaughter  them? 

Man,  too,  is  an  animal,  and  they,  like  him,  are 


164  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

sentient  beings,  only  different.  They  form  a  body 
politic,  as  truly  as  man  does.  They  have  their  habits 
of  life  as  man  has  his  social  scheme  of  existence. 
Their  life  is  different  from  man's,  but  is  as  perfect 
in  its  way. 

'  They  are  our  fellow-mortals.  They  are  im- 
meshed  in  the  same  mighty  process  as  we  are.  They 
came  from  the  same  source  and  are  destined  to  the 
same  end.  They  lived,  moved,  and  breathed  on 
primeval  land  fragments  when  the  continents  we 
creep  over  were  asleep  in  the  seas.  They  are  our 
ancestry.  They  are  the  forms  of  being  that  have 
made  you  and  me  possible." 

It  is  a  well-established  fact  that  animals  have 
added  directly  and  indirectly  more  to  the  civilization 
of  man  than  science  or  art. 

Without  the  domestication  of  the  wild  horse,  ox, 
and  dog,  the  camel,  elephant,  llama,  buffalo,  deer,  the 
wild  jungle  fowl  of  India,  and  the  bee  and  silkworm, 
man  to-day  would  possess  neither  the  advanced  means 
of  locomotion  nor  half  his  knowledge  of  agriculture 
and  husbandry. 

Shall  a  handful  of  individuals  styling  themselves 
fur-traders,  milliners,  sportsmen,  and  game-dealers 


WILD  ANIMALS  165 

be  permitted  to  exterminate  within  a  few  years  that 
which  it  has  taken  Nature  uncounted  ages  to  bring 
forth  through  the  process  of  natural  growth  or  evo- 
lution ? 

Man  will  indeed  do  well  to  consider  seriously  this 
question.  At  the  present  time  laws  are  enacted  and 
clubs  and  societies  are  formed  for  the  supposed  pro- 
tection and  propagation  of  game ;  but  in  reality  those 
laws  are  merely  a  means  for  enabling  sportsmen  and 
game-dealers  to  kill  off  the  annual  increase  of  wild 
animals. 

It  is  not  proposed  that  man  shall  abstain  altogether 
from  killing  wild  animals,  for  argue  as  we  may,  life 
to  sustain  life  must  devour  life.  The  existence  of 
all  phases  of  life  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  on 
the  earth-plane  depends  on  the  mutual  destruction  of 
the  one  by  the  other,  but  not  on  their  extermina- 
tion. 

In  order,  therefore,  that  man  may  still  continue 
to  hunt,  and  the  different  species  of  wild  animals  now 
existent  be  preserved,  the  following  laws  should  be 
enacted  and  observed: 

All  traffic  in  wild  animals,  birds,  and  fish,  not 
caught  in  the  sea,  shall  be  forever  prohibited  by 
law. 

Only  fish  caught  in  the  open  sea  shall  be  allowed 


i66  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

to  be  sold  in  the  markets,  since  only  such  fish  have  a 
chance  to  escape  extermination. 

Once  they  enter  bays,  rivers,  lakes,  or  other  land- 
locked waters  they  cannot  be  bought  or  sold,  or  bar- 
tered, or  used  for  any  commercial  purposes  what- 
ever, but  like  land  animals  are  only  for  the  personal 
use  and  consumption  of  those  who  catch  them. 

Seal,  walrus,  sea-otter,  or  other  fur-bearing  animals 
inhabiting  the  sea  must  be  protected  like  land  animals. 

The  law  shall  prohibit  the  use  of  nets,  traps,  or 
snares  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  rivers  emptying  into 
the  sea,  lakes,  or  other  rivers. 

Again,  it  shall  be  unlawful  to  kill  or  take  fish  or 
any  other  sea  animals  by  means  of  fire-arms,  auto- 
matic or  air-guns,  or  missiles  mechanically  discharged 
from  machines. 

Steamships  or  vessels  impelled  by  motive  powers 
other  than  those  of  wind  or  oars  shall  not  be  allowed 
to  fish  in  any  waters  for  commercial  or  other  pur- 
poses. The  modern  steam  trollers  in  use  to-day  ex- 
terminate the  fish  and  deprive  the  fisherman  who  uses 
the  sailing  vessel  of  his  living. 

Again,  the  use  of  shotguns,  air  guns,  automatic 
and  repeating  guns  shall  be  prohibited  in  the  chase. 
Only  the  single-shot  rifle  (no  silent  guns),  and  primi- 
tive weapons  shall  be  used. 


Neither  shall  individuals  be  allowed  to  catch  fish 
or  destroy  any  form  of  animal  life  for  mere  pleasure. 
Destroying  wild  animal  life  for  pleasure  is  virtually 
the  same  as  setting  fire  to  a  forest  for  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  it  burn. 

The  true  object  of  hunting  and  fishing  for  men  who 
no  longer  live  by  the  chase  is  not  the  game  that  is 
killed,  but  the  benefits  derived  from  the  free  life  in 
the  wilderness.  They  should,  therefore,  limit  their 
destruction  of  wild  animals  to  the  amount  necessary 
to  supply  their  immediate  wants  in  camp. 

So  much  Nature  permits,  it  being  in  perfect  accord 
with  her  universal  and  fundamental  law, — all  life 
dependent  upon  life.  But  the  wanton  destruction  of 
wild  animals  for  mere  pleasure  or  for  traffic  in  them 
is  an  inglorious  thing,  unworthy  of  civilized  man, 
and  contrary  to  the  law  of  life. 

The  penalties  imposed  for  violation  of  the  game 
laws  should  be  the  same  as  those  exacted  for  the 
transgression  of  any  other  laws  governing  the  Earth's 
natural  resources.  Naturally  there  should  be  no  pro- 
tection for  venomous  reptiles  and  skunks. 

Even  the  claim  that  people  have  a  right  to  kill  wild 
animals  because  they  trespass  on  their  fields  and  herds 
cannot  be  freely  allowed. 

There  is  no  law  higher  than  that  of  self-preserva- 


i68  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

tion,  and  back  of  such  a  condition  of  affairs  lies  the 
undoubted  fact  that  man  has  deprived  wild  animals 
of  their  natural  food  by  driving  them  to  the  deserts 
and  barren  fastnesses  of  the  mountains,  and  that, 
therefore,  these  wild  creatures  occupy  the  same  posi- 
tion as  does  the  man  who,  owing  to  unjust  circum- 
stances, is  forced  to  steal  to  save  himself  from  star- 
vation. 

Nature  takes  no  cognizance  of  the  shallow  laws 
and  formulas  invented  by  man  to  endow  the  indi- 
vidual with  rights  which  enable  him  to  live  while  his 
neighbor  starves,  thus  placing  that  neighbor  outside 
the  pale  of  universal  justice. 

Whenever  the  national  welfare  of  a  country  is 
threatened  by  the  invasion  of  an  enemy,  the  State  un- 
hesitatingly seizes  both  the  citizen  and  his  property 
if  necessary  for  the  public  defense. 

So  also  when,  owing  to  the  monopolization  of  land 
and  the  destruction  of  natural  food  products,  men  or 
animals  are  deprived  of  their  natural  means  of  ex- 
istence, they  are  justified  in  taking  their  subsistence 
from  those  who  possess  it  in  exactly  the  same  manner 
as  an  army  takes  from  the  citizen,  whether  with  or 
without  his  consent,  whatever  is  needed  to  supply  its 
immediate  wants. 

The  national  welfare  is  imperiled — the  existence 


WILD  ANIMALS  169 

of  the  State  is  at  stake.  Soldiers  must  have  food  to 
fight ;  animals  food  to  preserve  the  species. 

Wild  animals  cannot  thrive  properly  without  ex- 
tensive range.  The  deer,  elk,  buffalo,  mountain 
sheep,  and  other  wild  animals  which  formerly  sought 
their  summer  pasturage  among  the  mountains,  always 
descended  to  the  foothills  and  plains  at  the  approach 
of  winter,  thereby  escaping  the  deep  snows  of  the 
mountain  ranges  and  the  severe  cold  of  the  high  alti- 
tudes. And  it  is  because  their  winter  pasturage  is 
now  occupied  by  ranchmen  and  farmers  that  so  many 
of  these  creatures  perish  during  seasons  of  long 
drought  or  in  severe  winters. 

The  free  range  of  wild  animals  which  should  form 
a  part  of  the  new  order  would  minimize  this  evil. 

Furthermore  the  land  should  be  restocked,  not  only 
with  animals  which  formerly  abounded  in  the  various 
sections  of  the  country,  but  also,  when  possible,  with 
desirable  species  from  foreign  countries. 

Man  may  barter  and  sell  any  wild  species  which 
he  raises  on  his  own  private  preserves,  but  upon  the 
wild  animals  at  large  he  has  no  claim.  They,  like 
the  land  or  man  himself,  form  a  part  of  the  Earth's 
natural  products  and  cannot  be  destroyed  wantonly 
or  monopolized  by  the  individual. 

All  rivers,  streams,  and  lakes,  and  all  artificial 


170  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

bodies  of  water  under  State  control,  as  well  as  moun- 
tains, forests,  and  free  lands,  should  be  fish  and  game 
preserves  in  which  wild  animals  should  be  allowed 
to  range  at  will. 

When  man's  birthright  is  restored  to  him,  and 
wild  animals  are  allowed  plenty  of  free  range  in 
which  to  thrive  and  propagate,  and  are  properly  pro- 
tected by  the  law,  their  increase  will  be  a  hundredfold 
over  that  of  to-day,  and  there  will  be  an  abundance 
of  game  for  everyone  so  long  as  this  planet  is  habit- 
able. 


XVI 

GOVERNMENT 

/~|~VHE  North  American  Republic  was  believed  by 
many,  at  the  time  of  its  establishment,  to  pre- 
sent the  ideal  earthly  form  of  government,  but  time 
has  shown  that  the  very  conditions  from  which  the 
founders  of  the  Republic  sought  to  escape — the 
tyranny  and  misrule  of  individuals — have  been 
brought  about  once  more  by  the  growth  and  misrule 
of  wealth,  and  the  formation  of  a  plutocracy  which 
is  now  riding  roughshod  over  the  Public.  A  condi- 
tion no  better  than  that  of  social  institutions  founded 
upon  a  landed  aristocracy  whose  hereditary  rights 
were  originally  established  upon  the  hereditary  line- 
age of  conquerors  who  seized  the  lands  and  main- 
tained their  positions  by  force,  distributing  the  com- 
munal lands  among  those  who  aided  them. 

Already  as  far  back  as  1883,  Mr.  W.  G.  Moody  * 
pointed  out  this  menace  to  the  State. 

*  "  Land  and  Labor." 


172  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

"  Within  the  last  twenty  years,"  he  says,  "  we  have 
taken  immense  strides  in  placing  our  country  in  the 
position  in  which  Europe  is  found  after  a  thousand 
years  of  feudal  robbery  and  tyranny  of  capital — with 
the  lands  concentrated  in  large  tracts  in  the  hands  of 
the  few,  and  cultivated  by  a  people  who  are  the  slaves 
of  the  few.  .  .  .  The  effects  growing  out  of  this 
state  of  things  are  of  the  most  serious  character  and 
will  inevitably  bring  upon  our  people  the  most  ter- 
rible revolutionary  conflict." 

The  picture  is  merely  reversed.  The  European 
aristocracy  of  heredity  is  no  worse  than  the  American 
aristocracy  of  wealth.  In  some  respects,  indeed,  it 
is  more  desirable.  The  one  holds  by  force  that 
which  its  ancestry  seized  by  force,  the  other  holds 
by  force  all  that  money  can  purchase. 

Both  represent  the  unbridled  and  unscrupulous 
misrule  of  power  vested  in  the  individual,  and  both 
are  incompatible  with  the  future  development  of  the 
human  race. 

The  United  States  Government,  like  all  other  gov- 
ernments to-day,  rests  upon  territory  or  property,  not 
upon  persons;  upon  the  township  as  the  unit  of  a 
political  system,  not  upon  the  gens  which  is  the  unit 
of  a  social  system. 


GOVERNMENT  173 

A  political  organization  which  rests  upon  territory, 
not  upon  persons  with  the  individual  as  the  unit  of 
its  political  system,  cannot  be  otherwise  sustained  than 
through  the  power  of  an  hereditary  aristocracy  or 
an  aristocracy  of  wealth. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  might  indeed 
have  been  the  greatest  thing  of  its  kind,  as  Glad- 
stone asserted,  had  not  its  framers  committed  the 
fatal  error  of  vesting  the  will  or  power  of  the  People 
in  its  body  of  National  Representatives. 

Instead  of  establishing,  as  they  thought,  a  govern- 
ment for  the  People  and  by  the  People,  they  in  reality 
created  merely  a  government  for  its  Representatives 
and  by  its  Representatives. 

The  disastrous  effects  of  thus  vesting  National  Rep- 
resentatives with  the  supreme  powers  of  the  Nation 
are  too  evident  to  require  illustration.  All  history, 
both  past  and  present,  shows  that  individuals,  with 
but  rare  exceptions,  prove  themselves  the  world  over 
unworthy  and  incapable  of  directing  the  affairs,  or 
shaping  the  destinies  of  Nations. 

A  People  can  commit  no  greater  folly  than  that  of 
permitting  a  handful  of  men,  its  Representatives,  the 
majority  of  whom  are  swayed  by  every  petty  passion 
and  ambition,  fanatical  and  mercenary  sentiment,  to 


174  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

settle  questions  of  national  importance — the  life  or 
death  of  a  Nation  1 

Only  a  Nation  itself  should  have  the  power  to 
decide  such  questions  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  Peo- 
ple; for  or  against  such  measures.  The  National, 
State,  and  Municipal  Representatives  of  a  country 
should  be  merely  a  presiding  council  with  power  to 
originate  and  mature  public  acts  of  national  or  com- 
munal importance,  but  the  People  only  should  have 
the  power  to  give  those  acts  vitality. 

The  Representatives  of  a  Nation  may  be  empow- 
ered to  mature  and  decide  all  measures  of  secondary 
importance,  but  those  directly  affecting  the  Public 
at  large,  of  such  magnitude,  for  example,  as  the 
declaration  of  war,  the  creation  and  increase  of 
armies  and  navies,  the  creation  of  taxes  and  tariff- 
systems,  the  disposition  of  the  public  revenues,  &c., 
should  be  decided  by  the  People  alone. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  have  been  living 
in  a  fool's  paradise  of  imagined  self-government  long 
enough.  It  is  high  time  they  began  to  govern  them- 
selves by  stripping  their  National,  State,  and  Muni- 
cipal Representatives  of  the  supreme  powers  which 
they  hold,  and  vesting  those  powers  in  themselves, 
the  People. 

A  State  patterned  after  the  present  Republic,  but 


GOVERNMENT  175 

with  direct  government  by  the  People  substituted  for 
representative  government,  and  such  communal 
ownership  of  the  Earth's  natural  resources  as  is  set 
forth  in  these  pages,  would  be  indeed  a  Government 
for  the  People  and  by  the  People ;  a  State  worthy  to 
serve  as  a  proper  medium  for  the  creation  of  Democ- 
racy's ideal. 


XVII 

LAWS  AND  THEIR  ENFORCEMENT 

FT  is  better  to  have  no  Government  at  all  than  a 

Government  that  is  too  weak  to  enforce  the  laws. 

It  will  be  impossible  in  a  work  of  this  nature  to 
give  more  than  a  slight  outline  of  what  the  ideal 
Government  (if  we  may  employ  the  term),  should 
be;  but  meager  though  it  be,  it  will  serve  to  point 
the  way  to  the  simplification  of  government,  and  to 
true  Democracy. 

The  least  governed  people  are  the  best  governed 
people,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  all  nations  should 
not  be  governed  by  the  simple  laws  of  the  primitive 
community. 

In  fact,  no  nation  is  thoroughly  civilized  until  it 
can  dispense  with  the  complicated  and  unnecessary 
machinery  of  modern  Governments,  and  every  man 
becomes  a  law  unto  himself,  bearing  the  responsibili- 
ties of  citizenship  without  other  restraint  than  that 
which  is  necessitated  by  the  observance  of  a  few  sim- 
ple laws. 

176 


LAWS  AND  THEIR  ENFORCEMENT     177 

1.  True  Democracy  admits  of  no  discrimination 
in  persons.     Women  shall  enjoy  equal  suffrage  with 
men. 

2.  There  shall  be  no  authority  in  the  land  but 
that  of  the  majority  of  the  People;  no  court,  no  per- 
son, or  number  of  persons  not  constituting  a  majority 
of  the  People  shall  interfere  with  the  right  of  the 
People. 

30.  The  People  are  everything — the  Law,  the 
Government,  the  Supreme  Court,  the  President,  the 
Cabinet,  the  Congress,  the  Legislature,  the  City 
Council,  the  Mayor,  the  Police,  &c.,  the  power 
or  machine  that  makes  or  abolishes  at  will  all  public 
acts,  institutions,  and  offices. 

b.  The  approval  or  disapproval  of  any  measure 
or  policy  by  the  majority  of  the  People  shall  stand 
supreme,  and  there  shall  be  no  appeal  from  it. 

c.  The  decision  of  a  judge  or  a  jury,  or  of  any 
tribunal  in  the  land  shall  count  for  naught  if  at  any 
time  it  meet  with  the  disapproval  of  the  majority 
of  the  People. 

d.  The   People  create  their  entire  Government, 
and  direct  it  themselves  from  day  to  day. 

40.  There  shall  be  no  arbitrary  enactment  on 
laws. 

b.    There  shall  be  no  laws  on  the  Statute  Books 


178  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

that  are  not  placed  there  by  the  wish  and  consent  of 
the  majority  of  the  People. 

5.  The  majority  of  the   People  shall  have  the 
power  to  place  any  law  they  wish  upon  their  Statutes, 
or  to  instantly  repeal  and  remove  it  if  they  so  desire. 

6.  Any  law  that  has  been  annulled  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  majority  of  the  People  shall  become 
null  and  void  in  the  same  instant  that  the  said  major- 
ity of  the  People  so  decide,  even  before  it  has  been 
removed  from  the  Statutes. 

70.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  any  public  elec- 
toral office  who  has  not  been  duly  elected  to  that 
office  by  the  majority  of  the  People. 

b.  Any  person  may  present  himself  as  a  candidate 
for  any  public  electoral  office;  but  in  order  to  be 
eligible  to  that  office  he  must  have  received  a  majority 
of  all  the  votes  cast  for  that  office  at  the  election. 
The  present  dictation  of  party  bosses  will  thus  be 
eliminated. 

c.  All  chief  National  and  State  Representatives, 
and  all  Municipal  or  public  officials  shall  be  elected 
to  office  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  People. 

d.  All    public    officials,    excepting    the    President 
and  National  and  State  Representatives,  shall  main- 
tain their  offices  until  the  age  limit  of  active  service 
is  reached. 


LAWS  AND  THEIR  ENFORCEMENT     179 

e.  The  holding  or  occupancy  of  a  public  office 
depends  entirely  upon  the  good  behavior  and  efficiency 
of  the  individual. 

/.  Any  person  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  the  office 
of  the  Presidency  as  often  as  the  People  elect  him  to 
said  office. 

g.  Only  a  native-born  citizen  can  be  elected  to 
the  office  of  the  Presidency. 

80.  No  person  shall  be  permitted  to  hold  or  retain 
any  public  office  whose  position  has  been  made  by 
appointment  by  a  public  official  if  the  majority  of  the 
People  object  to  his  incumbency  of  the  said  office. 

b.  The  People  shall  have  the  Power  of  Recall, 
and  it  shall  apply  to  all  public  offices. 

ga.  The  Right  of  the  Initiative  and  the  Referen- 
dum shall  stand  supreme.  A  small  percentage  of  the 
Community  or  People,  from  five  to  ten  per  cent,  may 
at  any  time  suggest  to  the  Public  anything  that 
pleases  or  displeases  them  concerning  the  public 
welfare. 

b.  Whenever  such  a  percentage  of  the  People  sign 
a  petition  demanding  that  a  question  be  submitted 
to  popular  vote,  the  Government,  National,  State,  or 
Municipal,  shall  be  obliged  to  submit  the  question 
to  the  Public  within  a  specified  time  for  popular 
approval  or  disapproval. 


i8o  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

c.  The  operation  of  this  Initiative  and  Referen- 
dum shall  be  permitted  at  any  time  or  place. 

d.  This   same   Initiative    and    Referendum   shall 
apply  alike  to  State,  Provincial,  and  Municipal  Gov- 
ernments. 

10.  As  the  least  governed  People  are  the  best  gov- 
erned People,  the  State  shall  offer  a  perpetual  and 
liberal  standing  reward  to  any  person  who  shall  suc- 
ceed in  showing  why  any  law  should  be  simplified  or 
abolished,  or  why  any  official  office  should  be  abol- 
ished. 

n  a.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  vote  until  he 
has  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one. 

b.  A  foreigner  may  become  a  naturalized  citizen 
if,   after  a   five  years'   permanent   residence   in  the 
country,  he  is  able  to  pass  successfully  such  examina- 
tions as  the  State  demands  of  him,  and  also  takes  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  country. 

c.  All  persons  shall  enjoy  freedom  of  speech  and 
action  so  long  as  they  do  not  in  any  way  interfere  with 
the  life,   liberty,   welfare,   and  property  of  the  in- 
dividual. 

d.  The  individual  shall  work  for  as  long  or  short 
a  time,  and  for  as  great  or  small  a  wage  daily  as  it 
pleases  him. 

e.  Child  labor  shall  be  prohibited. 


i2a.  All  questions  of  international  dispute  which 
the  Nations  are  unable  to  settle  amicably  themselves 
shall  be  referred  to  the  International  Peace  Tribunal 
at  the  Hague  for  settlement. 

b.  Immigration  shall  be  controlled  by  an  Inter- 
national Commission  appointed  and  maintained  by 
the  Nations. 

c.  The  State  shall  accept  such  immigrants  only  as 
it  can  provide  with  land;  otherwise  it  cannot  accept 
any. 

d.  The  State  shall  own  and  maintain  its  Legation 
Houses. 

e.  The  State  shall  provide  its  foreign  Representa- 
tives with  such  salaries  as  will  enable  them  to  repre- 
sent their  Country  with  dignity  and  in  a  becoming 
manner. 

13^7.  All  public  institutions,  utilities,  and  charities 
shall  be  maintained  by  the  National  Government, 
State,  or  Municipality. 

b.  All  such  institutions  shall  be  maintained  at  a 
minimum  cost. 

140.  All  children  as  regards  primary  education 
shall  be  wards  of  the  State. 

b.  Education  in  the  Public  Schools  shall  be  com- 
pulsory for  all  children. 

c.  Boys  and  girls  shall  enjoy  co-education. 


i8i  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

d.  No  child  shall  enter  school  before  the  age  of 
ten. 

e.  The  State  shall  not  permit  any  child  to  attend 
any  other  than  a  Public  School  until  that  child  has 
completed  the  elementary  course  in  the  Public  School. 

/.  The  curricula  in  the  Public  Schools  shall  in- 
clude thorough  courses  in  the  Liberal  Arts  and 
Domestic  Science.  Every  child  shall  also  be  required 
to  take  a  course  in  general  Agriculture  and  Hus- 
bandry in  order  that  he  may  become  self-sustaining 
and  be  equipped  for  the  ordinary  duties  and  require- 
ments of  life. 

g.  All  necessities  required  for  pursuing  this  course 
of  study  in  the  Public  Schools  shall  be  furnished  the 
child  by  the  State  free  of  cost. 

h.  Courses  of  instruction  in  the  higher  institutions 
of  learning,  such  as  the  Universities,  shall  not  be 
compulsory,  but  shall  be  free. 

i.  The  ordinary  requisites  for  instruction  in  the 
Universities  must  be  supplied  by  the  individual;  they 
will  not  be  furnished  free  by  the  State. 

150.  The  State  shall  provide  for  all  homeless, 
destitute,  and  orphaned  children  until  they  have 
reached  the  age  of  sixteen. 

b.  All  State  institutions  for  orphans,  homeless, 
and  destitute  children  shall  be  situated  in  the  country. 


LAWS  AND  THEIR  ENFORCEMENT     183 

c.  The  State  provides  all  such  children  upon  at- 
taining the  age  of  sixteen,  as  well  as  all  destitute 
but   able-bodied  grown  persons,  with  ten   acres  of 
arable  land,  together  with  free  transportation  to  said 
land,  and  all  the  necessary  requisites  for  a  pastoral 
life;  seeds,  trees,  implements,  &c.,  two  horses  with 
harness  and  wagon,  and  a  modest  house  and  stabling. 

d.  The  State  shall  confer  this  favor  upon  such 
persons  but  once;  if  they  prove  unworthy  of  the  trust 
confided  in  them,  they  must  shift  for  themselves. 

i6a.  The  State  shall  provide  for  all  persons  who 
are  incapable  of  self-support. 

b.  All  State  institutions  maintained  for  such  pur- 
poses shall  be  situated  in  the  country. 

i1-] a.  The  State  shall  compel  all  persons,  married, 
unmarried,  divorced,  or  separated  to  support  any 
children  they  may  possess  until  such  children  attain 
the  age  of  sixteen. 

1 8.  No   person    shall   receive    any    compensation 
whatsoever  for  breach  of  promise  in  connection  with 
marriage,   nor  for  alienation  of  the  affections,   nor 
shall  any  alimony  be  granted. 

19.  The  State  shall  prohibit  and  suppress  prosti- 
tution. 

2oa.  The  State  shall  inspect  and  exercise  strict 
supervision  over  all  foodstuffs. 


i84  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

b.  The  State  shall  punish  all  persons  found  guilty 
of  misrepresentation  concerning  articles  of  use  and 
commerce,  and  adulteration  of  all  foodstuffs,  drugs, 
medicines,  &c. 

21.  The  State  shall  prohibit  the  sale  of  all  poisons 
to  individuals  without  a  written  prescription  from  a 
Physician. 

22.  Vivisection  shall  be  prohibited  by  law. 


XVIII 

REVENUES 

ia.    The  Nation  shall  be  self-sustaining. 

b.  The  revenues  of  the  Nation,  National,  State, 
and  Municipal,  shall  be  derived  from  an  Income- 
tax. 

c.  The  rate  of  taxation  shall  be  fixed  by  the  ap- 
proval of  the  majority  of  the  People,  and  this  rate 
of  taxation  shall  be  subject  to  change  at  any  time 
according  to  the  wish  of  the  majority  of  the  People. 

2.    The  State  shall  not  contract  foreign  loans. 

30.  The  Income-tax  shall  be  the  sole  source  of 
permanent  revenue. 

b.  Whenever  there  is  insufficient  money  on  hand 
in  the  National,  State,  and  Municipal  Treasuries  for 
the  construction  of  Public  Utilities  which  are  used 
for  the  Public's  convenience  only,  such  as  railroads, 
canals,  city  water-works,  lighting-plants,  &c.,  the 
National  Government,  State,  and  Municipality,  re- 
spectively, shall  be  empowered  by  the  consent  of  the 
majority  of  the  People  or  Community  to  issue  inter- 

185 


i86  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

est-bearing  bonds  for  the  construction  of  such  Utili- 
ties. 

c.  When  said  Utilities  have  paid  for  their  initial 
cost,  the  bonds  shall  be  canceled. 

d.  The  per  cent  charged  for  the  use  of  such  Utili- 
ties shall  be  fixed  at  such  a  rate  as  shall  cause  them 
to  pay  off  their  initial  cost  as  speedily  as  possible. 

e.  All  such  loans  for  the  construction  of  Public 
Utilities  can  only  be  national  loans;  foreign  capital 
cannot  invest  in  them. 

/.  The  above-mentioned  law  does  not  apply  to  the 
construction  and  maintenance  of  State  Institutions  of 
learning  and  charity,  &c.,  but  only  to  those  which 
can  strictly  be  termed  mediums  of  public  convenience. 
The  means  for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of 
all  other  State  Institutions  must  be  drawn  from  the 
National  Revenues  obtained  through  the  medium  of 
an  Income-tax. 

4.  The    Government   shall   issue   monthly   state- 
ments in  its  official  gazette  concerning  the  exact  state 
of  the  entire  public  revenues  of  the  Country — Na- 
tional, State,  and  Municipal. 

5.  This   statement  shall   specify  the   amount   re- 
ceived; the  amount  expended;  the  purposes  for  which 
it  was  expended,  or  is  to  be  expended;  and  the  amount 
of  revenue  on  hand  in  the  several  treasuries. 


REVENUES  187 

6a.  Notices  of  the  intended  expenditures  of  the 
public  revenues  must  be  published  not  later  than  six 
months  prior  to  the  date  set  for  such  expenditures  in 
order  that  the  People  may  be  duly  apprised  of  the 
proposed  disbursements  of  their  revenues. 

b.  If  the  majority  of  the  People  agree  to  the 
proposed  expenditures,  they  shall  be  duly  made,  but 
they  shall  not  be  sanctioned,  permitted,  or  modified 
without  such  consent. 


XIX 

CORPORATIONS 

1.  Any   stockholder   in    a    corporation    shall    at 
any  time  have  the  right  to  examine  its  books  and 
to  obtain  any  information  he  desires  in  regard  to  its 
affairs. 

2.  Any  corporation  wishing  to  increase  its  capital 
stock  must  first  give  ample  notice  of  its  desire  by 
publication,  and  then  present  the  matter  before  an 
open  meeting  of  the  stockholders  who  shall  have  the 
right  either  to  approve  or  reject  the  measure. 

3.  Every  corporation,   large  or  small,   public  or 
private,  must  publish  at  regular  intervals  an  exact  and 
detailed  statement  of  its  condition;  every  detail  of 
its  operations,  receipts,  expenditures;  the  amount  of 
business  transacted,  its  profits  or  losses,  the  disposition 
of  its  profits,   &c.     These   reports  must  appear  in 
an   official   periodical   provided   for  the   purpose   by 
the  State,  and  any  corporation  or  stock  company  not 
listed  in  this  official  periodical  shall  be  immediately 
confiscated  by  the  State,  and  the  directors  and  officials 

of  the  same  punished  for  violating  the  law. 

1 88 


XX 

PENSIONS 

I  a.  Only  unfortunates  who  are  mentally  or  phys- 
ically incapable  of  acquiring  a  livelihood  shall  be 
pensioned  by  the  State. 

b.  Persons  who  have  wrecked  their  lives  through 
dissipation  are  not  included  in  this  category. 

2«.  All  pensions  cease  with  the  death  of  the  pen- 
sioner. 

b.  The  right  of  a  State  pension  cannot  be  in- 
herited. 

There  will  be  no  occasion  for  pensioning  anyone 
else,  since  with  ten  acres  of  arable  land  at  the  dis- 
posal of  every  individual,  it  would  be  at  once  needless 
and  senseless  for  a  People  to  burden  itself  with  the 
taxation  required  to  maintain  a  larger  pension  roll. 

All  persons  in  the  employ  of  the  State  who  have 
completed  their  due  term  of  service  shall  be  retired 
at  the  age  of  fifty  or  sixty,  as  the  State  may  determine 
in  the  individual's  case. 

All  such  persons  shall  be  privileged  to  retire  at  the 
189 


i9o  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

age  of  fifty  if  they  wish.  At  the  expiration  of  their 
active  terms  of  service,  the  State  shall  provide  all 
such  persons  with  ten  acres  of  arable  land,  together 
with  free  transportation  to  said  land,  and  also  all 
the  necessary  requisites  for  a  pastoral  life:  seeds, 
trees,  implements,  &c.,  two  horses  with  harness  and 
wagon,  and  a  modest  house  and  stabling. 

Wherever  possible  all  such  persons  shall  be  allowed 
to  choose  the  location  of  their  land. 

Such  a  method  of  providing  a  pension  only  for 
those  who  stand  absolutely  in  need  of  it,  will  effectu- 
ally prevent  the  formation  of  a  permanent  bureau- 
cratic class,  one  of  the  most  dangerous  elements  with 
which  the  State,  regardless  of  its  nature,  has  ever 
had  to  contend. 

Furthermore,  no  amount  of  argument  can  prove 
that  the  State  should  pension  one  able-bodied  man, 
unless  it  pensions  every  able-bodied  citizen,  or,  in 
other  words,  adopts  Karl  Marx's  conception  of  the 
Socialistic  State,  and  enthrones  the  Common  Man. 


XXI 

THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY 

/"TAHE  universal  trade  and  exchange,  and  the  swift 
means  of  communication  which  are  fast  bind- 
ing all  nations  of  the  Earth  into  one  brotherhood, 
render  war  incompatible  with  future  human  develop- 
ment. 

It  is  true  that  primitive  tribes  and  nations  emi- 
grated in  ancient  days  from  one  country  to  another, 
but  there  is  not  a  single  instance  in  history  of  a 
People  or  Nation  as  a  whole  deliberately  going  to 
war. 

It  will  always  be  found  that  the  Nation  has  been 
led  to  take  such  a  step  by  ambitious  chieftains  or 
statesmen,  or  other  leaders  who  have  urged  the  Peo- 
ple to  war  purely  for  the  accomplishment  of  their 
personal  ambitions  and  desires. 

Wars  are  unworthy  of  a  civilized  People,  and  men 
should  no  longer  furnish  either  themselves  or  money 
for  the  furtherance  of  such  schemes,  which  are 
nothing  more  than  gigantic  undertakings  of  greed 


192  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

and  aggrandizement  instigated  by  individuals,  not 
by  Nations. 

The  armies  and  navies  of  the  world  should  not 
be  maintained  for  the  conquest  of  Nations,  but  should 
be  reduced  to  their  original  and  proper  spheres  of 
action  and  usefulness,  namely,  the  policing  of  the 
land  and  seas. 

A  small  international  fleet  consisting  of  the  swiftest 
battleships  should  be  formed  out  of  our  existing 
navies  for  the  purpose  of  an  international  sea-patrol, 
and  should  be  maintained  jointly  by  the  Nations  of 
the  Earth  for  the  suppression  of  piracy  and  the 
maintenance  of  peace  on  the  high  seas — nothing  more. 

The  armies  of  the  Nations  should  be  transformed 
into  national  patrols,  after  the  manner  of  the  Royal 
Northwest  Mounted  Police  of  Canada,  or  the  Rurales 
of  Mexico,  and  should  be  limited  to  such  numbers 
as  will  form  an  effective  body  of  men  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  peace  within  the  borders  of  their  respective 
Countries. 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION 

'T^HE  People  of  the  United  States  and  of  Switzer- 
land already  possess  the  requisite  governmental 
machinery  for  the  creation  of  the  economic  conditions 
proposed  in  ihis  volume. 

Naturally  such  a  reconstruction  can  be  brought 
about  only  by  the  most  sweeping  reforms,  but  let  it 
not  be  forgotten  that  we  are  entering  upon  a  new 
era  of  civilization;  that  we  have  worn  dead  men's 
shoes  and  followed  dead  men's  footsteps  long  enough; 
that  posterity  ever  inherits  the  full  measure  of  our 
lives,  the  evil  as  well  as  the  good,  and  must  bear  the 
burden  of  our  short-sightedness  should  we  neglect  to 
prepare  for  it  that  economic  condition  which  will  in- 
evitably lead  to  Democracy's  ideal. 

We  are  all  to  blame  for  present  conditions.  The 
children  of  the  rich  and  the  poor  alike  will  inherit 
the  blight  of  our  ignorance,  unless  both  rich  and 
poor  alike  make  such  sacrifices  as  are  necessary  to 
accomplish  the  end  in  view. 

193 


194  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Such  sacrifices,  however,  need  not  be  so  great  as 
would  at  first  thought  appear.  No  sudden  reaction- 
ary or  revolutionary  measures  will  be  required.  It 
will  not  be  necessary  to  destroy  existing  commercial 
systems  and  relations  in  order  to  establish  the  new 
social  order. 

The  change  can  be  accomplished  through  the  grad- 
ual and  peaceful  acquisition  of  the  Earth's  natural 
resources  by  the  People  through  the  medium  of  their 
revenues. 

It  is  always  easier  to  return  to  normal  conditions 
than  to  estrange  ourselves  from  them. 

That  which  we  have  failed  to  attain  through  arti- 
ficial means  during  centuries  of  endeavor,  namely,  a 
condition  which  grants  a  priori  to  the  individual  a 
material  footing  of  equality,  the  People  of  the  United 
States,  or  any  other  country,  may  easily  bring  about 
without  loss  of  life  and  within  a  reasonably  short 
space  of  time. 

It  will  not  do  to  beggar  the  rich  in  order  to  enrich 
the  poor.  Neither  will  it  be  necessary  to  pauperize 
the  Nation  by  buying  back  the  Earth's  natural  re- 
sources at  speculative  values  from  those  who  hold 
more  than  their  rightful  share  of  them. 

Indeed  it  would  be  an  impossible  task  for  the 
State  to  attempt  to  cope  with  such  speculative  value? 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION  195 

since  there  would  not  be  enough  gold  in  the  universe 
to  handle  them.  It  should  settle  with  individuals 
on  a  purely  nominal  basis  of  economic  values.  The 
justice  of  such  a  course  is  apparent  since,  when  once 
our  present  artificial  economic  basis  is  replaced  by  a 
natural  one,  all  speculative  values  will  be  either  en- 
tirely destroyed  or  reduced  to  their  legitimate  worth, 
while  actual  and  intrinsic  values  will  increase  in  the 
same  ratio. 

But  how  is  this  to  be  accomplished? 

First.  The  Nation  shall  set  a  time  during  which 
the  transition  shall  take  place.  Possibly  fifty  years, 
not  more;  as  fifty  years  represents  two  generations 
and  a  half  of  human  existence,  an  ample  time  in 
which  to  accomplish  the  end  in  view. 

Second.  The  individual  shall  be  permitted  to  ac- 
quire only  ten  acres  of  land,  pastoral  or  city  prop- 
erty, through  present  means  of  acquisition. 

Third.  All  citizens  or  non-citizens  holding  land 
in  excess  of  ten  acres  shall  be  obliged  to  dispose  of  all 
their  excess  lands  during  said  period  fixed  by  law. 

Fourth.  The  individual  shall  not  be  permitted  to 
acquire  forests,  minerals,  or  waters. 

Fifth.  All  persons  possessing  mineral  deposits, 
forests,  waters,  &c.,  shall  surrender  their  holdings  to 
the  State  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  twenty  years  of 


196  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

said  period  set  for  the  reconstruction.  The  State  takes 
this  step  on  the  grounds  that  the  wealth  amassed  by 
individuals  from  such  holdings  is  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  that  acquired  through  the  channels  of  legiti- 
mate finance. 

Sixth.  During  said  period  the  State  shall  place 
all  such  holdings  under  partial  State  supervision  in 
order  that  such  natural  resources  may  not  be 
unnecessarily  wasted  or  injured  by  the  individual 
holder. 

Seventh.  The  State  shall  also,  during  said  period, 
undertake  the  reforestation  and  preservation  of  all 
such  natural  resources. 

Eighth.  All  excess  land,  pastoral  or  city  property, 
held  by  the  individual  at  the  expiration  of  said  period 
shall  be  immediately  surrendered  to  the  State. 

Ninth.  During  said  period  no  foreign  capital  shall 
be  invested  in  the  country  wherever  such  capital  con- 
flicts with  the  People's  rights. 

Tenth.  Wherever  possible  all  foreign  capital  in- 
vested in  the  country  which  conflicts  with  the  People's 
rights  shall  be  withdrawn  during  said  period.  Where 
not  possible,  all  representatives  of  foreign  capital 
invested  in  the  country,  as  well  as  all  non-citizen 
holders  of  United  States  Bonds,  shall  be  reimbursed 
dollar  for  dollar  for  the  full  amounts  involved  during 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION  197 

said  period  and  thereafter  until  such  obligations  have 
been  discharged. 

Eleventh.  The  State  and  Municipalities  shall,  as 
far  as  possible  during  said  period,  acquire  all  Public 
Utilities,  purchased  from  the  individual  at  nominal 
though  liberal  prices. 

Twelfth.  Those  who  possess  nothing  beyond  their 
daily  wage  will  be  furnished  by  the  State,  if  they  so 
desire,  ten  acres  of  arable  land  with  the  necessary 
trees,  seeds,  implements  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil;  two  horses  with  harness  and  wagon,  a  modest 
house  and  stabling,  and  free  transportation  to  the 
land. 

All  vagrants,  destitutes,  and  dwellers  in  city  slums 
will  be  forced  to  accept  this  latter  proposition,  the 
State  furnishing  them  free  instruction  in  the  simple 
forms  of  agriculture,  thus  assuring  them  a  fair  start 
in  life. 

All  such  persons  should  be  exempt  from  taxation 
during  the  first  two  years  of  their  occupancy  of  the 
land,  after  which  they  should  be  taxed  the  same  as 
other  citizens. 

They  will  be  placed  on  land  in  the  country  and 
given  an  opportunity  to  nourish  themselves  from  the 
land.  If  they  leave  it,  they  will  be  obliged  to  shift 
for  themselves  as  best  they  can. 


198  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

They  cannot  return  to  their  former  wretched  lives 
in  city  slums — for  there  will  be  no  more  city 
slums,  no  more  vagrants  or  gutter-wolves  tolerated 
in  cities. 

Neither  will  they  be  permitted  to  interfere  in  any 
way  with  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  Public. 

The  State  will  be  quite  justified  in  taking  this  stand 
toward  all  such  people,  for  it  is  far  better  that  those 
who  refuse  to  work  and  acquire  an  honorable  living 
should  starve  in  the  country  than  in  the  cities. 

Naturally  the  present  systems  of  revenues  should 
remain  in  force  until  the  foreign  capital  invested  in 
the  country  has  been  paid  off,  since  without  them  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  State  to  meet  its  obliga- 
tions to  foreigners. 

The  method  proposed  for  the  reconstruction  would 
undoubtedly  be  treated  with  contempt  by  the  ex- 
tremely rich  whose  fortunes  range  from  ten  to  two 
hundred  millions  or  more. 

The  craze  for  money-getting  has  so  taken  posses- 
sion of  men's  minds  that,  those  who  in  our  Fathers' 
time  would  have  considered  themselves  well  off  in 
the  possession  of  a  few  thousand  dollars,  now  look 
with  indifference  on  anything  short  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  or  a  million;  while  the  multimillionaires 
regard  a  million  dollars  as  little  more  than  a  bagatelle 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION  199 

and  the  presence  of  its  insignificant  possessor  hardly 
worthy  of  social  toleration. 

But  in  order  that  we  may  form  an  adequate  idea 
of  the  power  represented  by  the  enormous  wealth 
centered  in  the  hands  of  single  individuals  to-day,  and 
at  the  same  time  create  a  standard  by  which  we  may 
measure  a  man's  wealth,  let  us  take  a  million  dollars 
as  an  illustration. 

$1,000,000,  drawing  yz  %  interest,  yields  an  annual  income 

of $  5,000 

$1,000,000,  drawing  i  %  interest,  yields  an  annual  income 

of 10,000 

$1,000,000,  drawing  2%  interest,  yields  an  annual  income 

of 20,000 

$1,000.000,  drawing  •$%  interest,  yields  an  annual  income 

of 30,000 

A  million  dollars  without  drawing  interest  at  all  will 
yield  an  annual  income  of  $20,000  for  fifty  years, 
or  $10,000  for  one  hundred  years  before  it  is  con- 
sumed. 

A  million  dollars,  therefore,  will  provide  in  mod- 
eration the  average  family  with  every  luxury  the 
world  has  to  offer,  permitting  that  family  to  travel 
annually  to  any  part  of  the  globe,  and  this  without 
any  labor  from  any  member  of  it  during  the  lifetime 
of  the  average  man. 

A  million  dollars  is  a  tremendous  sum  of  money — 


200  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

more  money  than  a  man  should  possess — a  sum  so 
vast  that,  under  natural  conditions,  only  a  few  men 
would  be  capable  of  amassing  it  through  the  channels 
of  legitimate  finance. 

So  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  not  without  reason  the 
State  adopts  arbitrary  methods  in  settling  with  in- 
dividuals and  putting  an  end  to  the  commercial 
brigandage  which  has  fastened  itself  upon  the  world. 

In  consideration  of  what  will  be  secured  in  return, 
liberty  and  prosperity,  the  like  of  which  civilized 
man  has  never  yet  known,  the  individual  can  well 
afford  to  be  content  to  abide  by  the  decrees  of  the 
State.  For  unless  the  signs  of  the  times  count  for 
naught,  the  people  of  the  United  States  will  have  to 
face  this  problem  at  no  distant  date. 

Therefore,  those  who  might  complain  that  they 
are  getting  too  little  may  well  be  reminded  of  a 
salient  truth,  too  often  demonstrated  in  history  to 
be  any  longer  questioned,  namely :  that  revolutions 
usually  make  short  shrift  of  those  who  oppose  the 
common  good,  whether  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor, 
and  that  it  is  better  to  sacrifice  a  part  of  one's  pos- 
sessions and  yet  remain  comfortably  off  in  life,  than 
to  lose  everything  one  possesses  and  perhaps  one's 
head  as  well. 

Moreover,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION  201 

our  children  who  will  reap  the  direct  benefits  result- 
ing from  the  change,  and  that,  therefore,  it  should 
be  the  first  consideration  and  duty  of  every  citizen 
to  make  such  sacrifices  as  may  be  demanded  of  him 
to  bring  it  about.  "  If,"  as  Carlyle  says,  "  the  poor 
and  humble  toil  that  we  may  have  food,  must  not 
the  high  and  glorious  toil  for  him  in  return,  that 
he  may  have  Light,  have  Guidance,  Freedom,  Im- 
mortality? " 

This  is  one  way  of  accomplishing  the  transition 
from  the  old  to  the  new  condition. 

The  method  proposed  is  at  once  simple,  economi- 
cal, and  workable.  When  once  the  State  has  ad- 
justed its  affairs  on  this  basis  it  will  become  econom- 
ically self-poised.  All  citizens  will  be  free  to  begin 
life  anew  on  a  footing  of  equal  opportunity;  there 
will  be  no  poor  except  those  who  insist  on  remaining 
poor. 

If  any  man  has  a  better  method  to  propose  let  him 
come  forward  with  it. 


XXIII 

THE  TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE 

"The  Golden  Age,  which  a  blind  tradition  has  hitherto  placed  in 
the  past,  is  before  us." — SAINT-SIMON. 

REE  the  land  and  the  Earth's  natural  resources 
by  placing  them  within  the  reach  of  everyone, 
and  humanity  will  adjust  itself  to  the  new  order  as 
easily  and  freely  as  water  seeks  its  own  level. 

The  accumulation  of  wealth  will  become  a  sec- 
ondary consideration.  Men  will  instinctively  and 
unconsciously  simplify  their  lives;  will  cease  grubbing 
in  the  dust  for  superfluous  riches;  will  no  longer  bur- 
den themselves  with  the  thousand  and  one  useless 
possessions  which  now  add  to  their  responsibilities 
and  cares. 

They  will  become  independent  units  and  stand  on 
a  natural  footing  of  material  equality. 

No  one  will  possess  arbitrary  power  over  another. 
The  man  living  in  the  city  will  not  dictate  to  the  man 
living  in  the  country,  nor  the  man  in  the  country  to 
the  man  in  the  city.  The  high  will  not  dictate  to 

303 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    203 

the  low,  nor  the  low  to  the  high.  Each  member  of 
society  will  be  relegated  to  his  natural  sphere  of  action 
by  the  natural  laws  of  supply  and  demand. 

The  individual  will  go  and  come,  think  and  act, 
work  for  as  long  and  short  a  time,  and  for  as  much 
and  as  little  hire,  or  will  refrain  from  working  alto- 
gether as  he  pleases. 

There  can  be  no  oppression  when  such  conditions 
prevail. 

The  organizations  which  to-day  intimidate  and 
control  mankind  will  be  effectually  broken  up;  for 
the  State  or  Community  will  then  be  in  a  position 
to  say  with  perfect  justice  to  the  individual — all 
things  which  the  Earth  has  to  offer  are  as  accessible 
to  you  as  to  your  neighbor,  use  them  or  not  as  it 
pleases  you,  tut  if  you  interfere  with  that  neighbor's 
rights,  you  do  so  at  your  peril. 

Then  indeed  will  men  be  in  a  position  to  practice 
the  Golden  Rule  in  daily  life,  not  merely  theorize 
upon  it  as  they  are  doing  to-day. 

Man  is  the  highest  order  of  animal  inhabiting  the 
Earth,  and  is  subject  to  the  same  natural  and  physical 
laws  as  are  the  lower  orders.  Nature  supplies  him 
as  she  does  them  with  that  portion  of  her  bounties 
which  is  necessary  to  sustain  him,  but  with  nothing 
more. 


204  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

If,  therefore,  man  refuses  to  sustain  himself, 
whether  directly  from  the  Earth's  natural  resources 
or  through  his  higher  intelligence,  let  him  perish. 

The  State  would  not  be  called  on  to  take  cogni- 
zance of  drones  or  idlers,  nor  should  it  be  obliged  to 
maintain  other  charities  than  those  necessary  for  the 
care  of  helpless  children  and  adults  whom  misfortune 
has  rendered  incapable  of  self-support. 

When  man  reclaims  his  birthright,  and  every  able- 
bodied  member  of  society  is  welcome  to  his  rightful 
portion  of  Nature's  bounties,  he  will  be  obliged  to 
sustain  himself  therefrom  or  the  rigors  of  Nature 
will  sweep  him  from  the  face  of  the  Earth — which 
is  as  it  should  be. 

Vagrancy  will  practically  become  a  thing  of  the 
past,  and  poverty  a  matter  of  individual  choice. 
There  will  be  no  wretchedly  poor  people  in  the  cities, 
since  the  laws  will  force  them,  if  work  is  not  ob- 
tainable, to  move  on  to  their  free  portions  of  land 
where,  provided  by  the  State  with  the  requisites  for 
a  pastoral  life,  a  livelihood  will  be  assured  them. 

This  is  not  the  "  political  economy  "  of  luxury  and 
extravagance  which  is  everywhere  taught  and  prac- 
ticed throughout  the  world  to-day,  and  which  permits 
those  in  power  to  rob  and  burden  the  Public  with 
debts,  obtaining  the  most  by  giving  the  least.  It  is 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    205 

the  fundamental,  underlying  principle  of  life — the 
working  out  of  the  natural  laws  of  growth,  supply, 
and  demand,  visible  on  every  hand  throughout  Na- 
ture, by  which  and  through  which  men  will  be  placed 
in  a  position  to  acquire  a  livelihood  from  natural 
sources  and  conditions. 

Verily,  he  who  does  not  work  shall  not  eat !  This 
is  justice  to  all.  The  farmer  or  husbandman  will 
possess  his  lawful  portion  of  land;  the  city  dweller, 
his  residence  surrounded  by  an  ample  garden  and 
such  further  plots  of  ground  within  the  ten-acre  limit 
as  his  business  or  profession  requires  or  as  he  can 
cover  with  buildings. 

This  will  effectually  destroy  all  speculative  values 
in  land  and  other  natural  resources. 

It  will  render  money  powerless  to  injure  humanity 
seriously  since  the  land  cannot  be  bought  or  sold, 
taxed  or  rented,  or  taken  from  man,  nor  can  wood, 
water,  or  minerals  be  controlled  by  individuals. 
There  will  be  enough  for  all. 

It  will  prevent  the  overcrowding  of  cities,  and  will 
bring  about  the  proper  diffusion  and  concentration 
of  populations  in  agricultural  districts. 

When  a  livelihood  is  secured  to  all,  and  the  pres- 
ent mad  scramble  for  money  is  ended,  there  will  be 
fewer  thefts,  fewer  crimes  against  property  rights, 


206  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

and  so  fewer  prisons.  Men  and  women  will  no 
longer  be  driven  insane  by  want  and  the  dread  of 
want,  and  so  there  will  be  fewer  insane  asylums. 
None  but  the  physically  or  mentally  unfit  need  ever 
suffer  for  the  necessities  of  life,  and  so  there  will  be 
fewer  alms-houses.  And  thus  the  demand  on  public 
charity  will  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  farmer  will  be  especially  benefited  by  such 
conditions,  and  will  become  a  husbandman  in  the 
true  sense  of  the  term. 

The  first  step  in  human  economy  and  the  first 
consideration  in  regard  to  a  man's  welfare  should  be 
to  render  him  self-sustaining  and  independent  of  the 
outside  world.  But  the  farmer  of  to-day  is  abso- 
lutely at  the  mercy  of  the  capitalist  who  controls  at 
once  the  fluctuations  of  the  stock  market  and  the 
railroads.  Under  the  new  conditions,  if  he  possesses 
a  fair  knowledge  of  husbandry,  he  will  be  in  a  situa- 
tion to  render  himself  self-sustaining  and  independent 
of  railroads,  capital,  or  the  uncertain  prices  which 
his  products  command  in  the  markets. 

Where  to-day  he  raises  only  a  single  cereal,  or  a 
few  fruits,  and  is  forced  to  devote  his  entire  time 
to  them,  owing  to  the  large  tracts  of  lands  which 
he  possesses,  under  the  new  conditions  he  and  his  fam- 
ily will  be  able  to  devote  their  energies  not  only  to 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    207 

all  that  pertains  to  the  farm,  but  also  to  those  hand- 
industries  which  are  as  much  a  part  of  husbandry  as 
is  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

On  a  farm  of  ten  acres  or  less,  a  family  endowed 
with  average  intelligence  will  be  able  to  raise  a  small 
amount  of  stock,  poultry,  and  such  grains,  vegetables, 
fruits,  and  flowers  as  the  climate  and  location  permit. 

From  the  animals  are  obtained  milk,  butter,  eggs, 
meat,  wool,  hides,  tallow,  soap,  feathers,  &c.  From 
the  grain,  flour  and  meal;  from  the  fruit  and  vege- 
tables, preserved  and  dried  fruits  and  vegetables  for 
winter  use;  from  the  flowers,  honey,  perfume,  and 
flowers  for  the  market ;  from  the  wool  and  flax,  home- 
spun cloth  and  linen,  rugs  and  hangings;  from  the 
trees,  shrubs,  and  other  vegetation,  fuel,  wood  for 
general  use,  brooms,  baskets,  dyes,  &c. 

The  man  who,  with  the  knowledge  that  the  tenure 
of  his  land  is  secure,  and  that  he  cannot  be  taxed 
if  his  crops  and  income  fail  him,  is  yet  unable,  under 
such  circumstances,  to  become  self-supporting  and 
independent  of  the  world,  will  have  nobody  but  him- 
self to  blame.  If  he  cannot  maintain  himself  on  his 
little  domain  with  such  resources  at  his  command,  he 
will  have  no  further  excuse  for  existence  on  Earth. 

The  greatest  boon,  however,  which  must  result  to 
humanity  from  such  conditions  is,  that  all  phases  of 


208  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

monopoly  resulting  from  the  accumulation  of  capital 
can  easily  be  broken  or  reduced  to  the  normal  and 
legitimate  limitations  of  trade  and  commercial  enter- 
prise by  the  return  of  the  People  to  the  soil  which 
lies  free  for  them  to  appropriate,  and  to  a  life  in 
which  the  individual  is  liberated  from  the  conventions 
and  laws  governing  society  in  cities. 

Viewed  from  a  material  standpoint,  this  is  the  only 
logical  solution  of  the  social  question  which  preserves 
the  personal  liberty  of  the  individual  without  a  return 
on  the  part  of  society  to  the  nomadic  state,  or  that 
of  the  clan. 

It  is  universal  in  its  application,  from  the  primitive 
to  the  civilized  man;  a  condition  that  will  stand  with 
or  without  government. 

If  it  were  not  the  rational  distribution  of  the 
Earth's  surface  and  its  resources,  a  natural  law  com- 
pelling animals,  savages,  and  aboriginal  peoples  to 
pass  their  entire  existence  struggling  for  the  posses- 
sion of  bits  of  the  Earth's  surface  would  prevail 
throughout  Nature.  Such  a  law,  however,  does  not 
obtain.  The  animal  struggles  for  his  food  and  den 
or  nest  only;  the  primitive  man  for  his  food  and  the 
ground  space  which  his  tent  or  hut  occupies;  the  hus- 
bandman for  the  plot  of  ground  that  will  nourish 
him. 


209 

This  is  the  universal  law  governing  the  Earth-life 
ordained  by  Nature.  It  is  idle  to  dispute  it. 

Were  it  otherwise,  were  the  individual  entitled  to 
more  than  his  natural  portion,  then  indeed,  both 
men  and  animals  might  well  struggle  together  even 
as  the  so-called  civilized  nations  are  struggling  to-day 
for  square  inches  of  dirt.  And  the  Earth,  to  meet 
the  full  requirements  of  such  a  struggle  and  the  laws 
of  inequality,  should  of  necessity  be  flat  instead  of 
round,  with  the  law  of  gravitation  ceasing  at  its 
margins,  and  the  chief  aim  of  man  and  beast  to  push 
his  weaker  fellow  nearer  and  nearer  the  danger-line 
and  over  the  brink  into  space. 

But  the  Earth  is  round  and  limited  in  area,  and 
escape  from  it  impossible.  The  conditions  of 
material  inequality  which  exist  to-day  are  solely  the 
result  of  man-made  laws  and  institutions,  while  those 
of  equality  prevailed  a  priori  before  the  human  race 
dreamed  of  framing  thought  into  words,  before  the 
first  eye  opened  on  a  universe  of  worlds. 

Again,  such  a  distribution  of  the  Earth's  surface 
and  its  resources  is  according  to  the  evolutionary  laws 
of  Nature,  upon  which  all  Earth-life  is  dependent 
for  its  development. 

It  is  true  that  all  forms  of  life,  from  the  lowest 
to  the  highest,  prey  upon  one  another  for  their  main- 


210  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

tenance  and  development,  but  their  decay,  like  their 
growth,  is  a  natural  one,  not  the  unnatural  one  carried 
forward  by  man  into  every  phase  of  his  existence  even 
to  the  extermination  of  his  own  species. 

Every  form  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  appears 
upon  Earth  at  a  given  time  prepared  for  it  by  the 
laws  of  growth  or  evolution,  and  although  every 
form  of  life  is  destined  to  be  preyed  upon  by  that  of 
a  higher  or  more  vigorous  form,  its  decay  and  final 
extinction  under  normal  conditions  proceeds  no  faster 
than  did  its  original  growth  and  development. 

The  various  forms  appear  upon  the  Earth,  flourish 
their  alloted  time,  then  gradually  disappear  to  make 
way  for  new  forms  of  life  which,  obeying  the  laws 
of  growth,  come  to  replace  them  during  the  succeed- 
ing eras  of  earthly  development  brought  about  by 
the  aging  of  the  planet  and  its  attendant  climatic 
changes.  But  the  encroachment  of  new  and  vigorous 
forms  of  life  upon  those  of  a  less  vigorous  nature  is 
a  gradual  one;  the  struggle  for  supremacy  between 
them  is  not  one  of  extermination.  It  is  the  gradual 
and  natural  displacement  of  the  one  by  the  other  or- 
dained by  the  irrevocable  and  creative  laws  of  the 
universe. 

This  gradual  process  of  change  prevailing  through- 
out the  Earth-life  is  Nature's  definition  of  natural 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE     211 

selection,  or  the  survival  of  the  fittest  on  a  material 
plane ;  a  very  different  matter  from  man's  brutal  and 
unnatural  extermination  of  any  and  every  living 
thing  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  satisfying  his  whims 
and  insatiable  mercenary  desires. 

Were  Darwin  still  alive,  he  would  certainly  re- 
pudiate this  false  and  unscientific  conception  of  natu- 
ral selection  which  the  majority  of  men  hold  to-day. 

A  law  which  would  have  made  the  human  type 
impossible  by  limiting  forever  the  development  of 
the  animal  kingdom  to  the  brute  type  subject  to  the 
domination  of  the  strongest  brute  species.  A  rule  of 
life  which  is  contrary  to  human  reason,  which  neces- 
sitates the  stifling  of  man's  noblest  sentiments,  love, 
sympathy,  and  pity,  and  which,  if  carried  to  its 
logical  conclusion,  would  result  in  man's  retrogression 
to  lowest  barbarism. 

"  All  men  are  created  free  and  equal,"  reads  the 
American  Declaration  of  Independence;  whereas  the 
real  truth  is  that  all  men  are  created  intellectually 
unequal.  Nor  can  they  be  born  free  and  into  con- 
ditions materially  equal  until  the  Earth's  natural  re- 
sources are  recognized  as  communal  factors  by  man 
and  are  equally  accessible  to  all. 

Wars  must  inevitably  cease  when  the  truth  of  this 
fact  becomes  thoroughly  established  in  the  minds  of 


212  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

men,  and  is  recognized  as  the  dominating  principle 
in  life,  a  principle  leading  to  true  civilization,  and  to 
the  peace  and  material  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
human  race.  For,  since  communal  rights,  like  char- 
ity, begin  at  home,  no  one  acknowledging  the  rights 
of  his  fellow-man  to  his  share  of  the  Earth's  natural 
resources,  could  engage  in  war  or  advocate  it  without 
relinquishing  his  own  communal  rights. 

The  history  of  the  world  shows  that  man's  life 
cannot  be  regulated  by  man-made  laws,  but  only  by 
the  fundamental  principle  of  equality. 

'  The  growth  of  wealth,  and  with  it  the  concep- 
tion of  private  property,  brought  on  certain  very 
definite  new  forms  of  life;  it  destroyed  the  ancient 
system  of  society  based  upon  the  gens,  that  is,  a  so- 
ciety of  equals  founded  upon  blood-relationship,  and 
introduced  a  society  of  classes  founded  upon  differ- 
ences of  material  possessions;  it  destroyed  the  ancient 
system  of  mother-right  and  inheritance  through  the 
female  line,  and  turned  the  woman  into  the  property 
of  man;  it  brought  with  it  private  ownership  of  land, 
and  so  created  a  class  of  landless  aliens,  and  a  whole 
system  of  rent,  mortgage,  interest,  etc.;  it  introduced 
slavery,  serfdom,  and  wage-labor,  which  are  only 
various  forms  of  the  dominance  of  one  class  over  an- 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    213 

other;  and  to  rivet  these  authorities  it  created  the 
State  and  the  policeman."  * 

History  shows  that  individual  ownership  of  land 
and  the  Earth's  natural  resources  resulted  from  the 
seizure  of  the  communal  lands  by  ambitious  chieftains 
or  primitive  conquerors  who,  in  order  to  legalize  or 
make  their  possession  secure,  distributed  them  in  turn 
to  those  who  served  them.  But  all  this  was  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  laws  of  Nature,  which  never  de- 
signed that  the  land,  wood,  minerals,  and  waters  of 
the  Earth  should  become  merchandise  and  be  monop- 
olized and  exploited  by  the  individual  for  greedy 
commercial  purposes. 

The  Earth  is  man's  and  the  fullness  thereof.  It 
cannot  be  too  often  repeated  that  every  human  being 
born  into  this  Earth-life  is  as  much  entitled  by  natural 
law  to  enough  arable  land  and  wood  and  water  and 
minerals  to  supply  himself  with  the  necessities  of  life 
as  he  is  to  the  sunlight  and  the  air  he  breathes. 

This  free  portion  of  the  Earth's  natural  resources 
will  not  only  provide  the  individual  with  a  livelihood, 
but  will  also  make  him  independent  of  commercial 
competition  if  he  wishes  to  remain  aloof  from  it. 

It  will  assure  him  freedom,  permitting  him  to  think 

*  "  Ancient  Society":  Lewis  H.  Morgan. 


2i4  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

and  act,  and  go  and  come  at  will  without  hindrance 
or  restraint.  It  will  render  the  question  of  a  liveli- 
hood purely  one  of  simple  and  natural  effort  de- 
manded by  Nature  to  sustain  life  within  the  body. 
It  will  fix  the  responsibility  of  individual  develop- 
ment upon  the  individual  himself. 

This  is  the  basic  principle  of  Nature's  economy 
upon  which  worlds  and  celestial  systems  are  formed 
and  sustained — the  fundamental  principle  upon  which 
a  lasting  condition  of  human  economy  may  be  based, 
creating  a  natural  source  of  nourishment  for  all  living 
things  in  conformity  with  the  universal  law  of  life— 
"  live  and  let  live !  " 

Man's  undisputed  right  to  the  soil  beneath  his  feet 
and  the  Earth's  natural  resources  is  an  inalienable  and 
eternal  one. 

It  is  as  essential  and  as  much  a  part  of  himself  and 
the  sphere  he  inhabits  in  the  Universe  as  the  skin  with 
which  his  body  is  clothed,  and  should  come  before 
all  forms  of  government  and  other  human  schemes 
and  institutions. 

Man  can  no  more  escape  from  the  truth  of  this 
argument  than  he  can  escape  from  or  transcend  the 
laws  of  gravitation. 

These  facts  remain  established  and  beyond  dispute: 
There  is  enough  land  for  the  nourishment  of  every 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE     215 

inhabitant  and  for  the  normal  increase  in  population 
of  the  planet  Earth,  and  all  forms  of  government  and 
human  institutions  which  deprive  man  of  his  portion 
of  the  Earth's  resources  are  merely  schemes  devised 
by  the  few  to  rob  the  many.  They  are  as  unscien- 
tific as  they  are  unnatural,  and  have  not  the  slightest 
claim  or  foundation  for  their  further  continuance. 


XXIV 

THE  TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE 

ALL  that  has  thus  far  been  said  concerning  govern- 
ment and  the  distribution  of  the  Earth's  natural 
resources,  those  things  which  must  serve  as  an  indis- 
pensable basis  for  the  untrammeled  and  free  develop- 
ment of  man,  will  in  themselves  merely  prepare  the 
way  for  the  realization  of  Democracy's  ideal.  That 
condition  which  must  inevitably  bring  forth  a  race  of 
free-born  men  who  will  laugh  at  man-made  laws  and 
institutions,  and  will  govern  themselves  as  much  as 
possible  in  their  own  persons  and  as  little  as  possible 
by  deputy;  a  condition  in  which  the  individual  will 
be  privileged  to  live  in  great  measure  independent  of 
governments  and  of  most  human  institutions. 

So  long  as  the  individual  respects  the  life  and 
property  of  his  neighbor,  refrains  from  monopolizing 
the  Earth's  natural  resources,  and  preserves  and  hus- 
bands them,  his  life  shall  be  what  he  ivishes  it  to  be, 
not  what  others  wish  to  make  it. 

The  social  revolution  which  is  now  clearly  dis- 

216 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    217 

cernible  on  the  horizon  has  for  its  aim  nothing  less 
than  the  enfranchisement  of  the  human  race.  Not 
imaginary  freedom,  but  actual  freedom.  A  condi- 
tion which  cannot  be  attained  through  the  preserva- 
tion of  present  institutions  or  by  the  creation  of  new 
ones,  but  only,  so  far  as  possible,  through  their  elim- 
ination. 

Life  as  it  appears  to  the  majority  of  men  to-day 
is  merely  the  conception  of  life  entertained  by  the 
city  man  who  naiVely  imagines  that  all  things  should 
be  arranged  to  meet  the  requirements  of  his  limited 
artificial  existence,  while  in  reality,  there  is  no  more 
reason  why  a  person  should  not  be  a  nomad,  if  he 
wishes  to  be  one,  than  he  should  be  a  merchant,  a 
farmer,  or  a  philosopher. 

Once  and  for  all  let  it  be  understood  that  the  ques- 
tion of  human  or  natural  economy  is  not  one  of  cap- 
ital and  labor,  of  capital  and  income,  of  commercial 
production  and  demand,  or  of  the  distribution  of 
wealth  resulting  from  them,  but  solely  one  relating  to 
that  part  of  a  man's  life  which  is  concerned  with  get- 
ting a  living. 

Since  it  has  been  shown  that  the  area  of  arable  land 
on  the  Earth's  surface  is  more  than  ample  to  support 
the  human  race,  allowing  for  a  normal  increase  in 
population,  the  paramount  issue  confronting  man  to- 


218  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

day  is  not  one  of  governments  and  schemes  of  reform, 
which  are  merely  incidentals  in  human  development, 
but  the  prolongation  of  the  habitableness  of  this 
planet  through  the  preservation  and  proper  distribu- 
tion of  its  natural  resources. 

Nature  compels  both  man  and  animal  to  exert 
themselves  for  the  supplying  of  their  material  wants. 
If  they  refuse  to  do  so,  they  perish — which  is  as  it 
should  be.  Beyond  this  point  in  existence  man  may 
enjoy  as  much  or  as  little  freedom  as  he  likes.  It 
lies  entirely  with  himself. 

If  he  wishes  to  maintain  and  perpetuate  that  con- 
dition which  is  conducive  to  the  greatest  freedom  of 
action  and  thought,  it  is  only  necessary  that  men  (a), 
preserve  and  hold  in  common  the  Earth's  natural 
resources;  (b),  adopt  a  rational  educational  system 
which  shall  include  instruction  in  agriculture  and  all 
that  pertains  to  husbandry,  the  industrial  arts,  and  the 
rudiments  of  natural  science;  (c),  and  lastly,  keep 
the  land  well  stocked  with  wild  animal  life  for  the 
consumption  of  the  individual  while  enjoying  life  in 
the  open. 

The  few  simple  communal  laws  and  institutions 
requisite  for  the  maintenance  of  such  conditions  will 
weigh  feather-light  upon  man. 

The  more  institutions  we  possess,  the  more  we  must 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE     219 

toil  and  slave  away  our  lives  to  maintain  them;  for 
which  reason  the  least  governed  People  are  the  best 
governed  People. 

This  beautiful  Earth — the  Garden  of  Eden — lies 
spread  out  about  us.  Liberty  and  happiness,  life's 
greatest  prize,  are  ours  to  enjoy  to  the  full  if  we 
wish  it.  This  is  the  rational  exposition  of  the  Golden 
Age  on  Earth — all  that  it  offered  man  during  the 
childhood  of  the  race,  all  that  it  can  offer  him  when 
the  manhood  of  the  race  is  attained. 

The  Golden  Age,  the  City  Beautiful,  Utopia,  or 
the  Ideal  State,  as  conceived  by  various  political  econ- 
omists, statesmen,  and  poets,  will  not  bear  analysis, 
for  if  any  one  of  these  could  be  translated  into  reality 
the  liberty  of  mankind  would  be  the  price  paid  for  a 
Golden  Age  of  Bondage. 

Nothing  can  compensate  man  for  the  loss  of  lib- 
erty. Trace  back  the  stream  of  civilization  until  it 
is  lost  in  the  dim  obscurity  of  an  irrevocable  past, 
and  the  one  assurance  ever  forthcoming  concerning 
the  secret  of  human  happiness  in  all  times  and  for 
all  men  has  ever  been  liberty. 

Owing  to  the  folly  of  allowing  individuals  to  own 
and  control  the  Earth's  natural  resources,  man  to-day 
occupies  the  painful  position  of  a  modern  Atlas.  He 
bears  the  burden  of  the  Earth  upon  his  shoulders, 


220  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

whereas  the  proper  function  of  the  Earth  is  to  bear 
him.  And  yet,  notwithstanding  the  terrible  retribu- 
tion which  Nature  has  brought  upon  him  in  conse- 
quence of  his  violation  of  her  laws,  men  still  continue 
to  bring  children  into  the  world  regardless  of  the 
fact  that  present  civilization  denies  the  individual's 
right  to  existence  unless  he  pays  a  toll  for  that 
privilege. 

It  is  indeed  astonishing  that  man  should  deliber- 
ately perpetuate  the  slavery  of  his  race  by  failing  to 
recognize  the  fact  that  he  is  born  into  the  Earth-life 
for  the  purpose  of  spiritual  development,  not  that 
he  might  conform  to  human  schemes  and  inventions 
of  materialistic  tendencies. 

Civilization  as  it  is  conceived  and  practiced  by 
man  to-day  spells  slavery;  it  is  an  institution  fit 
only  for  barbarians,  not  for  savages  or  civilized 
men. 

Had  his  Satanic  Majesty,  the  Devil,  meditated 
for  a  thousand  years  on  how  he  might  best  vex  and 
afflict  mankind,  he  could  not  have  devised  a  better 
or  more  successful  scheme  than  that  human  institu- 
tion known  as  modern  civilization. 

The  North  American  Indian,  before  his  contact 
with  the  White  Man,  held  the  Golden  Age  with  its 
untold  possibilities  in  the  palm  of  his  hand,  but  was 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    221 

quite  as  ignorant  of  the  fact  as  were  the  first  dis- 
coverers of  the  American  Continents. 

Ask  yourself  which  is  the  better,  the  more  rational 
earthly  condition:  One  of  continual  war  and  oppres- 
sion, of  disease,  degeneracy,  suffering,  and  want;  one 
in  which  the  Public  is  ever  at  the  mercy  of  ignorant, 
unscrupulous  individuals  who,  by  means  of  the 
monopolization  of  the  Earth's  natural  resources, 
seize  the  reins  of  government,  make  and  alter  the 
laws  of  the  land  to  suit  their  own  convenience,  and 
under  the  protection  of  these  same  laws  and  imagi- 
nary rights,  govern  by  might?  Or,  one  in  which 
the  individual  has  no  control  over  the  natural  re- 
sources of  the  Earth  or  his  fellow-beings;  a  country 
where  every  man  is  welcome  to  his  rightful  share  of 
these  resources — enough  to  supply  his  wants — enough 
for  the  supreme  development  of  his  ideals?  A 
country  where  there  is  an  abundance  of  life's  neces- 
sities for  all,  where  wild  animal  life  abounds,  and 
where  the  waters  teem  with  fish  and  are  free  of  con- 
tamination? A  country  where  life  is  long,  where 
there  are  few  crimes,  few  prisons  or  asylums  or  other 
institutions,  and  few  taxes?  A  country  where  honor 
prevails  and  men  are  beholden  unto  God  alone; 
where  men  are  free  to  go  and  come  at  will;  where 
they  may  work  as  much  or  as  little  as  they  please; 


222  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

where  there  is  no  drudgery  except  what  is  self- 
imposed;  where  the  simple  material  necessities  of  life 
are  within  the  reach  of  all,  and  men  may  devote  the 
greater  part  of  their  days  to  the  development  of  their 
minds  and  bodies,  making  of  them  the  sacred  shrines 
and  temples  which  the  Supreme  Being  intended  them 
to  be? 

This  is  no  idle  fancy,  no  chimerical  dream.  It 
is  the  actual  and  normal  earthly  condition  which 
Nature  intended  man  should  inherit  through  the 
process  of  his  evolutionary  development  on  Earth. 

Indeed,  it  is  the  actual  condition  which  the  Amer- 
ican Continents  originally  offered  Europeans  who, 
instead  of  availing  themselves  of  its  advantages,  con- 
tinued to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  degenerate 
forefathers. 

The  North  American  Indian  not  only  held  the 
land,  forests,  waters,  and  minerals  in  common,  but 
the  wild  animals  as  well.  Every  Indian  was  welcome 
to  enjoy  his  rightful  share  of  them — but  no  more. 
He  was  not  even  permitted  to  slaughter  game  pro- 
miscuously or  for  pleasure. 

A  common  law  existed  among  all  the  tribes  which 
permitted  the  punishment  of  any  such  offenders.  For 
a  first  transgression  of  the  law,  the  offender's  entire 
personal  effects  were  either  destroyed  or  taken  from 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE     223 

him;  for  a  repetition  of  the  same  offense,  the  death 
penalty  was  promptly  meted  out  to  him.  This,  of 
course,  before  the  coming  of  the  enlightened  White 
Man,  who  was  not  slow  to  instruct  his  red  brother 
in  the  art  of  wasting  Nature's  bounties. 

By  restricting  the  individual  to  his  rightful  share 
of  natural  necessities  there  was  ever  an  abundance 
for  all.  Only  thus  was  it  possible  for  the  individual 
to  maintain  his  freedom,  or  for  the  planet  to  nourish 
him  properly. 

Trace  this  thought  to  its  logical  conclusion,  and 
we  must  inevitably  arrive  at  the  only  sane  deduction : 
That  only  a  fool  would  erect  a  larger  house  than 
was  necessary  for  his  comfort,  or  slave  away  his  life, 
year  in  and  year  out,  to  maintain  superfluous  institu- 
tions ;  that  only  a  fool  would  waste  his  time  cultivat- 
ing a  larger  area  of  land  than  sufficed  to  yield  him  a 
living;  that  only  a  fool  would  destroy  the  natural 
food  supply  of  the  land,  the  wild  animals,  or  devote 
his  time  to  rearing  more  domesticated  animals  than 
were  necessary  to  supply  his  needs,  especially  when 
the  latter,  if  shared  in  common,  will  thrive  and  mul- 
tiply equally  well  if  permitted  to  run  free. 

We  may  adopt  the  same  maxim  for  ourselves,  but 
place  a  more  enlightened  interpretation  upon  it, 
namely — he  who  is  satisfied  with  enough  works  least, 


224  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

and,  therefore,  has  the  greatest  amount  of  freedom 
to  devote  to  his  spiritual  development. 

Naturally  the  mere  suggestion  that  the  poor,  un- 
tutored savage  led  a  saner  existence  than  does  his 
white  successor  will  be  greeted  with  derision  by  the 
world,  and  especially  those  economists  who  pass  their 
days  within  four  walls,  inventing  and  dreaming  of 
complicated  governments  and  other  institutions. 

We  know,  however,  whereof  we  speak.  This  is 
not  at  all  a  question  of  what  you  would  like  or 
what  I  would  like,  but  the  exact  exposition  of  things 
as  they  are.  We  are  viewing  both  sides  of  the 
mirror.  The  tribunal  before  which  we  now  stand  is 
open  to  the  savage  as  well  as  the  civilized  man. 

The  application  of  the  fundamental  principle  of 
natural  economy  set  forth  in  these  pages  is  not  de- 
pendent upon  theory,  but  upon  the  observance  of  the 
divine  law  prevailing  throughout  the  sphere  which 
we  inhabit. 

Search  history  from  the  days  of  Soldene  of  Egypt 
to  those  of  the  present,  and  we  will  not  find  a  single 
theory  or  philosophy  of  life  which  does  not  conflict 
with  this  law. 

Indeed,  what  has  thus  far  been  said  concerning 
government  should  be  regarded  merely  as  a  means 
to  an  end  to  bridge  over  that  transitory  period  which 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    225 

must  intervene  until  the  state  of  true  Democracy  has 
been  attained.  But  when  we  have  crossed  that  gulf 
and  entered  into  the  land  of  promise,  living  in  accord- 
ance with  Nature's  divine  economic  law,  we  too  can 
easily  afford  to  dispense  with  our  little  man-made 
theories  of  government. 

Not  until  then,  until  man  has  reached  the  goal  of 
true  civilization,  recognizing  the  right  of  his  fellow- 
man  to  his  share  of  the  Earth's  natural  resources, 
shall  man  be  in  a  position  to  govern  himself  by  the 
simple  communal  laws  of  the  clan. 

We  may  scoff  at  the  idea,  but  our  arrogance  of 
thought  and  extravagances  and  excesses  of  our  daily 
lives  cannot  conceal  from  us  the  fact  that  complicated 
institutions  are  merely  imaginary  necessities,  not  the 
basic  necessities  of  life  required  for  the  free  and 
natural  development  of  man. 

In  spite  of  that  wonderful  edifice,  Civilization,  to 
which  we  refer  with  so  much  pride,  every  stone  of 
which  represents  a  human  soul,  disease  and  misery 
are  on  the  increase,  and  the  struggle  for  life  becomes 
ever  more  difficult. 

What,  of  paramount  importance,  has  this  civiliza- 
tion really  given  us?  Has  it  lifted  us  any  nearer 
the  stars?  Can  we  really  say  that  we  are  more 
accurately  informed  concerning  the  why  and  where- 


226  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

fore  of  existence,  or  of  life  after  death,  than  is  the 
savage? 

On  the  contrary,  universal  unrest  and  the  wish  not 
to  live  is  permeating  all  races  subject  to  the  influences 
of  modern  civilization.  The  idea  that  life  is  a 
thing  to  be  endured  is  fast  supplanting  the  natural 
desire  to  live  which  was  so  intense  in  early  civiliza- 
tions. 

What  then,  after  all  is  said  and  done,  do  our  in- 
stitutions, our  literary,  scientific,  and  artistic  achieve- 
ments amount  to  if  they  deprive  us  of  our  liberty- 
entail  the  everlasting  misery  of  the  human  race  by 
making  slaves  of  men? 

Is  this  the  end,  the  culmination  of  human  develop- 
ment? Have  all  our  strivings,  sufferings,  longings, 
and  yearnings,  our  triumphs  and  our  failures  been 
for  naught  ?  Must  we  then  disregard  our  inventions, 
our  literary,  artistic,  and  scientific  attainments,  our 
customs  and  modes  of  everyday  life?  By  no  means. 
Nothing  could  be  more  absurd  on  the  part  of  man 
than  to  attempt  to  limit  the  manifold  manifestations 
of  the  human  intellect.  Man  shall  invent  and  create 
to  his  heart's  content;  but  he  should  do  so  alon^ 
rational  lines.  He  should  not  be  permitted  forcibly 
to  subject  his  fellow  to  the  results  of  his  investiga- 
tions. 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE     227 

We  have  merely  confounded  mechanics  with  ethics; 
have  mistaken  mechanical  laws  for  natural  laws;  have 
conformed  our  lives  to  artificial  instead  of  natural 
conditions. 

"  All  real  and  wholesome  enjoyments  possible  to 
man,"  says  Ruskin,  "  have  been  just  as  possible  to  him 
since  first  he  was  made  of  the  earth  as  they  are  now : 
and  they  are  possible  to  him  chiefly  in  peace. 

'  To  watch  the  corn  grow  and  the  blossoms  set;  to 
draw  hard  breath  over  plowshare  and  spade;  to  read, 
to  think,  to  love,  to  pray;  these  are  the  things  to 
make  men  happy;  they  have  always  had  the  power  of 
doing  these — they  never  will  have  the  power  to  do 
more." 

Mechanical  progress  is  not  ethical  progress.  All 
branches  of  science,  art,  and  mechanics  which  do  not 
tend  to  increase  happiness  or  alleviate  the  suffering 
of  the  world,  or  which  cause  the  destruction  of  life, 
are  at  once  useless  and  unworthy  of  a  civilized  people. 

Most  of  the  preventives  of  disease  in  use  through- 
out the  world  to-day  are  of  little  value.  They  do 
not  prevent,  but  only  temporarily  arrest  the  spread 
of  disease,  whereas  the  observance  of  strict  sanita- 
tion and  the  leading  of  a  simple  and  natural  life  on 


228  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

the  part  of  man  effectually  destroys  or  eradicates  the 
germs  of  disease — which  is  the  end  to  be  attained.* 

In  the  same  ratio  that  modern  medical  and  hygienic 
science  progresses,  disease  increases  throughout  the 
world;  nor  will  science  ever  triumph  over  the  latter 
so  long  as  men  maintain  their  present  modes  of  life 
and  imperfect  sanitary  conditions;  poisoning  the  air 
with  fumes  of  minerals  and  unnecessary  clouds  of 
smoke,  contaminating  the  waters  with  refuse  matter, 
and  passing  the  greater  portion  of  their  lives  shut  up 
in  houses,  breathing  the  foul,  congested  atmosphere 
of  large  cities. 

Many  of  our  modern  inventions,  such  as  the  tele- 
graph, telephone,  and  some  others,  are  valuable;  but 
the  advantages  derived  from  most  of  them  are  very 
much  overrated.  Take,  for  example,  the  railroads. 

They  are,  undoubtedly,  indispensable  to  the  times, 
since  it  is  important  that  both  persons  and  certain 
commodities  should  be  transported  from  one  place  to 
another  as  speedily  as  possible.  But,  apart  from  this 
advantage,  railroads  have  done  little  to  benefit  or 
increase  the  happiness  of  mankind. 

Before  railroads  came  into  use  the  highroads  of 

*  This  was  the  condition  of  the  North  American  Indian  and 
many  nomadic  tribes  of  Africa  and  Asia  before  their  contact  with 
Europeans  and  degenerate  civilizations  of  the  East.  Hereditary 
diseases  were  practically  unknown  to  them. 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    229 

Europe  and  America  were  lined  with  prosperous, 
self-sustaining  communities.  Whereas  to-day  the 
greater  number  of  these  communities  no  longer  exist, 
or  are  in  a  condition  of  stagnation ;  the  railroads  hav- 
ing in  effect  depopulated  the  country  by  transferring 
both  its  wealth  and  population  to  their  terminals — 
the  large  cities. 

The  depopulation  of  villages  throughout  England 
and  Continental  Europe  affords  a  striking  example  of 
the  disastrous  effects  railroads  have  had  upon  them. 
The  railroads  destroyed  the  great  freighting  and 
coaching  industries  which  were  carried  forward  over 
the  country  at  large. 

Neither  are  railroads  essential  to  the  settlement 
of  countries.  The  whole  of  Europe  was  settled  be- 
fore railroads  were  invented.  Mexico  and  the  great 
unknown  regions  of  the  North  and  West,  both  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  were  pioneered  and  colo- 
nized without  them.  It  is  quite  true  that,  after 
their  advent,  railroads  aided  in  the  work  of  coloniz- 
ing young  countries,  but  history  shows  that  they  were 
not  absolutely  essential;  the  work  would  have  gone 
forward  without  them  just  the  same. 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  great  freighting 
industry  carried  on  during  the  pioneer-days  of  the 
West  in  the  United  States  when  it  is  stated  that  the 


230  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

floating  population  of  the  Great  Plains  and  Rocky 
Mountains  during  that  period  averaged  anywhere 
from  250,000  to  500,000. 

"  The  firms  engaged  in  this  business,"  says  Mr. 
Randall  Parrish,  "  were  many,  and  their  employees 
an  army.  From  Fort  Smith,  Independence,  Kansas 
City,  St.  Joseph,  Atchison,  Council  Bluffs,  and  other 
less  known  points  of  departure,  the  great  wagon 
streams  swept  forth  into  the  Plains,  their  aggregate 
number  beyond  any  possible  estimate  of  to-day. 

"  The  greatest  firm  in  the  trade,  that  of  Russel, 
Majors,  and  Wadell,  at  one  time  employed  6,250 
huge  wagons,  and  75,000  oxen."  As  regards  staging 
and  passenger  transportation :  "  From  Placerville, 
Cal.,  to  Atchison,  which  in  the  regular  run  required 
seventeen  days,  the  distance  being  1,913  miles,  a  trip 
was  made  by  Holladay  in  twelve  days  and  two  hours. 
When  one  considers  the  lonely,  dangerous  country 
through  which  this  long  road  ran,  the  isolated  sta- 
tions, the  expense  of  equipment,  the  difficulty  of 
transporting  supplies,  the  rates  charged  for  overland 
travel  were  comparatively  low. 

"  The  old  Butterfield  fare  of  one  hundred  dollars 
for  2,759  miles  almost,  if  not  quite,  equals  present 
railroad  rates.  ...  In  1859,  counting  the  Panama 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    231 

steamer,  there  were  six  established  mail  routes  to 
California."  * 

A  historian  of  this  era,  in  referring  to  Mr.  Holla- 
day,  says: 

"  No  other  man  anywhere  has  owned  and  managed 
a  transportation  system  at  once  so  vast  and  so  diffi- 
cult. He  had  sixteen  first-class  passenger  steamers 
plying  the  Pacific  from  San  Francisco  to  Oregon, 
Panama,  Japan,  China.  At  the  height  of  his  over- 
land business  he  operated  nearly  5,000  miles  of  daily 
mail-stages,  with  about  500  coaches  and  express 
wagons,  500  freight  wagons,  5,000  horses  and  mules, 
and  a  host  of  oxen." 

Concerning  the  Pony  Express,  mail  was  carried  be- 
tween St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  and  Sacramento,  Cal.,  a 
distance  of  nearly  two  thousand  miles,  in  nine  days 
and  less.  The  news  of  Lincoln's  inaugural  "  was 
borne  from  rider  to  rider  to  the  Coast  in  the  marvel- 
ous space  of  but  seven  days  and  seventeen  hours.  .  .  . 
It  was  a  Pony  Express  rider  who  made  the  most  won- 
derful straight-away  ride  ever  made  by  man.  .  .  . 
The  rider  was  Francis  Xavier  Aubrey,  and  he  rode 
on  a  bet  that  he  could  cover  the  distance  between 

*  "  The  Great  Plains." 


232  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Santa  Fe  and  Independence  (800  miles)  in  eight 
days.  .  .  .  He  made  it  in  five  days  and  thirteen 
hours." 

Modern  civilization,  the  product  of  the  human 
mind,  is  without  question  a  marvel  of  human  ingenu- 
ity, but  regarded  as  a  whole,  it  is  a  colossal  expression 
of  wasted  effort. 

We  struggle,  toil,  and  worry  at  the  price  of  health 
and  happiness  and  the  grandeur  of  life  in  order  that 
we  may  some  day  become  rich  or  famous.  We  usu- 
ally fail  in  our  endeavors,  and  even  if  we  succeed, 
success  and  riches  are  comparatively  worthless  be- 
cause they  come  too  late.  We  are  too  old  to  enjoy 
them.  We  have  wasted  our  youth  in  years  of  toil 
only  to  realize  how  valueless  they  are  as  instruments 
of  happiness  when  we  possess  them. 

The  only  real  justification  for  modern  civilization 
would  be  that  it  make  mankind  happy;  but  since  it 
does  not,  it  is  a  failure. 

Nor  is  this  civilization  the  fulfillment  of  human 
destiny.  It  is  merely  the  culminating  outgrowth  of 
the  artificial  conditions  prevailing  throughout  the 
world,  sustained  and  upheld  by  individuals  whom 
society  permits  to  hold  the  balance  of  power. 

Again,  present  civilization  as  a  whole  serves  no 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    233 

useful  purpose.  It  is  merely  a  tremendous  force  of 
misdirected  human  energy  that  makes  slaves  of  men ; 
its  institutions  and  inventions  being  the  fetters  that 
bind  them.  Independent  action  on  the  part  of  the 
individual  can  hardly  longer  be  said  to  exist;  we  are 
all  slaves  to  one  another  from  the  millionaire  to  the 
day-laborer. 

We  pass  the  greater  portion  of  our  lives  shut  off 
from  the  pure  air  and  light  of  heaven  in  stuffy  offices, 
miserable,  dingy  garrets,  filthy  workshops,  and  the 
unhealthy,  smoke-tainted  atmosphere  of  huge,  hide- 
ous cities  merely  to  maintain  those  soul-killing  insti- 
tutions which  we  so  highly  prize. 

It  is  so  easy  to  accustom  ourselves  to  the  common- 
place by  calling  it  the  practical.  But  let  a  man  be 
the  faithful  servant  of  some  corporation,  or  the  un- 
tiring member  or  director  of  some  colossal  profit- 
making  enterprise  for  twenty  or  thirty  years  without 
so  much  as  taking  a  single  holiday,  and  when  he  dies, 
he  is  eulogized  by  the  press  and  the  community,  and 
his  life  of  stunted  growth  and  wasted  opportunity  is 
held  up  to  our  youth  as  one  to  imitate.  We  are  daily 
so  accustomed  to  hearing  this  drivel  that  we  no  longer 
recognize  the  cheapness  of  it. 

What  can  a  race  of  men,  begotten  under  such  con- 
ditions, know  of  freedom  and  happiness,  whose  days 


234  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

are  filled  with  ever  increasing  cares  and  worries — 
who  shrink  from  the  light  of  the  sun — who  tremble 
at  the  thought  of  the  morrow  ?  What  can  they  know 
of  the  great,  divine  message  of  life — of  the  Universe? 

What,  we  may  well  ask,  is  the  good  to  be  derived 
from  large  cities  and  most  of  our  inventions  and 
institutions  if  they  do  not  make  us  happier? 

From  a  point  of  ingenuity,  they  are  marvelous  cre- 
ations of  the  human  intellect,  but  at  what  a  price 
are  we  forced  to  maintain  them !  Spiritually,  they 
do  not  advance  the  race;  neither  do  they  insure  per- 
sonal safety.  Statistics  show  that  the  annual  de- 
struction of  life  caused  by  our  machines  and  inven- 
tions exceeds  that  of  any  battle  or  campaign  of 
ancient  or  modern  times. 

Many  of  our  institutions,  scientific  discoveries,  and 
inventions  do  unquestionably  tend  to  enlarge  our  men- 
tal vision  if  classed  as  mechanical  and  scientific  dis- 
coveries solely,  but  become  distinctly  harmful  when 
used  for  material  ends,  since  they  make  life  more 
complicated  and  difficult  to  live. 

An  invention  or  machine  is  good  if  used  for  a  good 
purpose  to  accomplish  the  end  for  which  it  was  cre- 
ated, but  is  harmful  to  man  if  he  uses  it  for  the 
accumulation  of  wealth  to  the  exclusion  of  everything 
else.  And  yet  we  foolishly  imagine  that  there  is 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    235 

nothing  greater  conceived  of  in  Heaven  and  Earth 
than  this  institution  of  men,  present  civilization,  with 
its  shallow,  artificial  ordinances,  its  playthings,  toys, 
and  baubles  called  inventions  which  enslave  us  to  such 
an  extent  that  we  no  longer  have  time  in  which  to 
think  or  live. 

*  These  boasted  arts,"  as  Emerson  says,  "  are  of 
very  recent  origin.  They  are  local  conveniences,  but 
do  not  really  add  to  our  stature.  The  greatest  men 
of  the  world  have  managed  not  to  want  them.  New- 
ton was  a  great  man,  without  telegraph,  or  gas,  or 
steam-coach,  or  rubber  shoes,  or  lucifer  matches,  or 
ether  for  his  pain;  so  was  Shakespeare,  and  Alfred, 
and  Scipio,  and  Socrates. 

'  These  are  local  conveniences,  but  how  easy  to 
go  to  parts  of  the  world  where  not  only  all  these 
arts  are  wanting,  but  where  they  are  despised.  The 
Arabian  Sheikhs,  the  most  dignified  people  on  the 
planet,  do  not  want  them;  yet  have  as  much  self- 
respect  as  the  English,  and  are  easily  able  to  impress 
the  Frenchman  or  the  American  who  visits  them  with 
the  respect  due  to  a  brave  and  sufficient  man." 

These  things  are  merely  the  froth  of  civilization; 
their  importance  and  significance  are  purely  imagi- 


236  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

nary.  To  assume  that  they  are  essential  to  the  in- 
tellectual and  spiritual  development  of  man  is  childish. 

Compare  the  thoughts  of  Plato  with  those  of 
Spencer,  Nietzsche,  and  Haeckel,  products  as  they 
are  of  this  age  of  gas  and  electricity,  artificial  heat- 
ing, railroads,  telegraph,  telephone,  explosives,  and 
innumerable  other  inventions  and  scientific  discoveries. 
Then  ask  yourself  whether  or  not  these  thinkers,  with 
the  advantage  of  the  accumulated  knowledge  of  past 
ages  in  their  favor,  are  Plato's  superiors? 

Turn  on  our  lights,  and  set  all  our  mechanical  de- 
vices in  motion,  and  add  thereto  the  scientific  dis- 
coveries of  the  past  century,  and  what  do  we  behold? 
Spencer  and  Nietzsche  and  Haeckel  still  seated  at 
the  feet  of  Plato,  and  the  hands  of  the  human  race 
outstretched  toward  the  grandest  figure  on  the  stage 
of  human  destiny — the  Christ,  who  knew  nothing  of 
these  trifles,  and  before  whose  conception  of  life  all 
things  pale  into  insignificance. 


XXV 

THE  TRUTH   SHALL  MAKE  YOU   FREE 

"1T7HAT,  then,  is  culture — progress?  Is  it  ma- 
terial prosperity,  the  accumulation  of  wealth, 
or  is  it  the  broadening  of  the  mental  and  spiritual 
horizon  of  the  human  race? 

A  drama  by  .^Eschylus  or  Shakespeare,  an  opera 
by  Wagner  or  Verdi,  a  chant  of  Pergolese,  a 
Beethoven  symphony,  a  painting  or  statue  are  expres- 
sions of  true  civilization;  but  the  shriek  of  the  steam- 
whistle  or  other  discordant  noises  are  the  distinct 
marks  of  barbarity. 

Legitimate  trade  and  industry  spell  civilization;  a 
stock-exchange,  barbarism.  Cities  are  a  good  thing 
within  reason,  but,  as  Bernard  Shaw  says,  "  The 
imagination  cannot  conceive  of  a  viler  criminal  than 
he  who  should  build  another  London  like  the  present 
one,  nor  a  greater  benefactor  than  he  who  should 
destroy  it." 

The  great  dam  at  Assuan  in  Egypt,  and  the  Sho- 
shone  dam  in  Wyoming,  through  means  of  which 

237 


238  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

thousands  of  acres  of  waste  land  are  reclaimed,  stand 
for  civilization ;  the  neglect  of  the  land  for  vandalism. 

A  reasonable  portion  of  a  country  converted  into 
orchards  and  fields  of  grain,  is  more  useful  than  an 
entire  land  of  unbroken  steppes.  But  cultivate  the 
entire  surface  of  a  land  and  fence  it  off  into  sections, 
and  what  have  we?  Nothing  but  a  damned  checker- 
board; a  condition  fit  only  for  slaves — a  race  of  men 
of  petty  aspirations  who  live  close  to  the  earth. 

Cultivated  fruits  and  flowers  are  more  useful  to 
man  for  certain  purposes  than  their  primitive  types; 
a  vineyard  is  more  beautiful  than  a  barren,  rocky 
hillside.  The  practice  of  scientific  methods  of  for- 
estry produce  a  more  useful  forest  than  the  primeval 
forest  itself. 

An  explosive  used  for  blasting  purposes  is  good; 
but  it  is  bad  if  used  for  the  destruction  of  life. 

To  maintain  intact  the  natural  beauties  of  the 
Earth  aids  civilization;  to  destroy  or  deface  them  for 
commercial  purposes  is  barbarism,  as  is  illustrated  by 
the  present  gradual  destruction  of  Niagara  Falls,  a 
desecration  which  could  only  be  tolerated  by  a  race 
of  peddlers. 

"  Horses  and  carriages,  as  means  of  locomotion," 
says  Tolstoy,  "  houses  and  clothes  as  means  of  shel- 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    239 

ter,  good  food  as  means  of  maintaining  the  strength 
of  one's  organism,  are  all  very  useful.  But  as  soon  as 
people  begin  to  regard  the  possession  of  such  means 
as  ends  in  themselves,  believing  it  to  be  good  to 
have  as  many  horses,  houses,  clothes,  and  foods  as 
possible — then  these  things  become  not  only  not  use- 
ful but  distinctly  harmful." 

The  accumulation  of  such  things  to  excess  is  the 
mark,  not  of  refinement  or  culture,  but  of  vulgarity; 
it  is  a  sign  not  of  progress,  but  of  retrogression. 

"  It  is  for  man  to  tame  the  chaos,  to  scatter  the 
seeds  of  science  and  song,  that  climate,  corn,  animals, 
men  may  be  milder,  and  the  germs  of  love  and  bene- 
fit may  be  multiplied.  As  long  as  our  civilization  is 
essentially  one  of  property,  fences,  of  exclusiveness,  it 
will  be  mocked  by  delusions.  Our  riches  will  leave 
us  sick;  there  will  be  bitterness  in  our  laughter,  and 
our  wine  will  burn  our  mouths.  Only  that  good 
profits  which  we  can  taste  with  all  doors  open  and 
which  serves  all  men." 

Our  superfluous  possessions  stand  betwen  us  and 
God.  We  are  smothered  by  them,  as  the  Roman 
maiden  was  choked  by  the  golden  bracelets  for  which 


24o  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

she  betrayed  the  city.  "  Men,  not  walls,  not  empty 
ships,  are  the  city,"  said  Nicias  to  his  army.  Ma- 
terial prosperity,  culture,  and  learning  count  for  little 
if  a  nation  fails  to  develop  that  spiritual  quality 
which  transcends  all  other  possessions. 

"  '  Iceland,'  said  William  Morris,  '  is  the  Greece 
of  the  North.'  It  produced  in  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth centuries  a  literature  unparalleled  after  Rome 
before  the  golden  age  of  England  and  France,  in 
character  drawing,  in  passionate  dramatic  power,  in 
severe,  noble  simplicity,  in  grim  humor. 

"  All  characters  of  the  Sagas  live  and  move  to- 
day. .  .  .  The  Icelander  of  to-day  knows  them  by 
heart.  It  is  as  if  every  Englishman,  from  pauper  to 
king,  knew  Shakespeare's  historical  plays  and  could 
retell  them  more  or  less  in  his  own  words.  .  .  . 
It  has  preserved  the  language  almost  untouched  by 
time  and  foreign  intercourse. 

u  Nowhere  is  the  contrast  between  man  and  his 
surroundings  so  glaring  as  in  Iceland.  Buried  in 
snow  and  darkness,  deprived  of  every  comfort,  liv- 
ing on  rancid  butter  and  dried  fish,  drinking  sour 
whey  and  milk,  dressed  like  servants,  seeking  in  a 
little  boat  his  food,  yet  a  cultured  mind,  possessing  an 
intimate  knowledge  not  only  of  the  history  of  his 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    241 

own  country,  but  of  Greece  and  Rome;  a  poet  fond 
of  throwing  off  satires,  intellectually  and  morally 
the  equal  of  his  European  guests,  considering  himself 
your  equal  and  refusing  to  be  ordered  about  by  a  rich 
Englishman,  owner  of  several  square  miles  of  land 
and  hundreds  of  sheep,  with  a  pedigree  going  back 
farther  than  that  of  his  visitor;  a  jack-of-all-trades,  a 
blacksmith  in  his  smithy,  boat-builder  and  carpenter, 
an  artist  in  filigree  work,  a  carver  in  wood,  an  eager 
reader  in  books,  he  has  universal  education  up  to  the 
degree  to  which  it  is  useful  for  a  man. 

"  There  are  no  schools  in  Iceland,  yet  every  child 
at  12  can  read,  according  to  parish  statistics.  In  no 
country  in  Europe  are  so  many  books  printed  and 
sold  in  proportion  to  the  population. 

"  A  population  of  only  76,000  scattered  in  many 
hamlets,  has  twelve  printing  presses,  the  earliest  being 
established  as  far  back  as  1530;  about  100  books 
annually,  14  newspapers,  and  8  periodicals  are  pro- 
duced to  satisfy  the  literary  needs  of  this  little  nation. 
Yet  this  literary  people  still  live  in  a  pastoral  Homeric 
civilization,  which  is  a  modern  lesson  of  the  health- 
fulness  of  human  life  lived  in  close  contact  with  the 
free,  wild  life  of  Nature,  such  as  would  have  de- 
lighted the  heart  of  Rousseau  or  Thoreau."  * 

*"  Iceland;  Its  History  and  Inhabitants":  Jon  Stcfansson,  Ph.D. 


242  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

This  does  not  picture  the  ideal  existence,  but  it 
will  serve  to  illustrate  the  fact  that  the  supporters 
of  modern  civilization  have  no  grounds  whatever 
upon  which  to  base  their  claims. 

It  proves  that  a  civilized  community  is  quite  capa- 
ble of  transmitting  its  attainments  to  its  offspring 
without  the  maintenance  of  those  institutions  which 
we  consider  so  indispensable  to  the  civilizing  process. 
That,  if  civilization  means  the  perpetuation  of  these 
institutions,  it  is  a  delusion.  That  the  man  or  woman 
who  cannot,  without  the  aid  of  schools  or  other  in- 
stitutions, instruct  his  or  her  children  in  all  that  is 
necessary  to  meet  the  demands  of  life,  is  an  uncivil- 
ized person,  and  shows  the  folly  of  maintaining  in- 
stitutions which  do  not  really  civilize  us — which  can 
never  civilize  us. 

Even  Captain  Roald  Amundsen,  in  "  The  North- 
west Passage,"  "  records  the  melancholy  conviction 
that  the  Eskimo,  living  absolutely  isolated  from  civili- 
zation of  any  kind,  are  undoubtedly  the  happiest, 
healthiest,  most  honorable,  and  most  contented  peo- 
ple." 

It  requires  but  little  imagination  to  see  how  easy 
men  can  make  life  for  themselves,  if  they  hold  the 
Earth's  natural  resources  in  common,  and  how  few 
institutions  they  are  actually  dependent  upon  for  their 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    243 

happiness.  As  every  man  under  such  circumstances 
will  stand  on  his  own  feet,  he  may  be  anything  he 
likes,  from  a  scientist  to  a  nomad,  without  disturbing 
the  life  of  his  neighbor.  Then,  and  then  only,  will 
he  be  in  a  position  to  enjoy  the  largest  measure  of 
freedom  possible  to  man. 

The  reason  why  the  truly  civilized  man  rebels 
against  present  institutions  is,  because  they  are  forci- 
bly saddled  upon  him,  and  he  is  obliged  to  bear  the 
burden  of  that  which  does  not  benefit,  but  which, 
instead,  makes  a  slave  of  him. 

This  fact  is  clearly  illustrated  by  Tolstoy  in  his 
masterly  criticism  of  modern  science  set  forth  in  his 
discussion  of  Edward  Carpenter's  essay  on  the  same 
subject. 

Carpenter  proves  that  neither  Astronomy,  nor 
Physics,  nor  Chemistry,  nor  Biology,  nor  Sociology 
gives  us  a  true  knowledge  of  actual  facts,  but  that  all 
the  "  laws  "  discovered  by  these  sciences  are  only 
generalizations,  which  have  but  an  approximate  value 
as  laws. 

"  Each  science,"  he  says,  "  has  been  (as  far  as 
possible)  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms.  Ethics  has 
been  made  a  question  of  utility  and  inherited  ex- 
perience. Political  Economy  has  been  exhausted  of 


244  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

all  conceptions  of  justice  between  man  and  man,  of 
charity,  affection,  and  the  instinct  of  solidarity;  and 
has  been  founded  on  its  lowest  discoverable  factor, 
namely,  self-interest.  Biology  has  been  denuded  of 
the  force  of  personality  in  plants,  animals,  and  men ; 
the  '  self '  here  has  been  set  aside,  and  the  attempt 
made  to  reduce  the  science  to  a  question  of  chemical 
and  cellular  affinities,  protoplasm,  and  the  laws  of 
osmose. 

"  Chemical  affinities,  again,  and  all  the  won- 
derful phenomena  of  Physics  are  emptied  down 
into  a  flight  of  atoms;  and  the  flight  of  atoms 
(and  of  astronomic  orbs  as  well)  is  reduced  to 
the  laws  of  dynamics."  "  It  is  supposed  that  to 
reduce  higher  questions  to  terms  of  lower  ones 
will  explain  the  higher.  But  this  explanation  is 
never  attained,  and  what  happens  is  that,  descending 
lower  and  lower  in  its  investigations,  from  the  most 
essential  questions  to  those  of  less  essential,  science  at 
last  reaches  a  domain  quite  foreign  to  man,  and  only 
adjacent  to  him,  to  which  domain  it  confines  its  at- 
tention, leaving  without  any  solution  all  questions 
most  important  to  man. 

"  But  without  settling  beforehand  the  question 
whether  the  method  of  the  experimental  sciences  can 
or  cannot  achieve  a  solution  of  the  problems  of  life 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    245 

most  important  for  humanity,  the  activity  itself  of 
the  experimental  sciences,  considered  in  relation  to  the 
eternal  and  most  legitimate  demands  of  humanity, 
impresses  one  by  its  fallacy. 

"  Men  must  live.  And  in  order  to  live  they  must 
know  how  to  live.  All  men  always — well  or  ill- 
have  learnt  this,  and  in  accordance  with  their  knowl- 
edge, have  lived  and  progressed.  And  this  knowledge 
of  how  men  should  live  was  always,  since  the  times 
of  Moses,  Solon,  Confucius,  considered  a  science — 
the  very  science  of  sciences;  and  it  is  only  in  our  time 
that  it  has  begun  to  be  regarded  that  the  science 
of  how  to  live  is  not  a  science  at  all,  but  that  true 
science  is  only  experimental  science,  beginning  with 
Mathematics  and  ending  with  Sociology.  And  a 
strange  misunderstanding  arises. 

"  A  simple  and  sensible  workingman — according  to 
the  old  sense  and  common  sense  as  well — supposes 
that  if  there  are  men  studying  all  their  life,  and  who 
think  for  him  in  return  for  being  fed  and  provided 
for  by  him,  then  these  men  are  probably  engaged  in 
studying  what  is  needful  for  man,  and  he  expects 
from  science  that  it  will  solve  for  him  those  questions 
on  which  depend  his  welfare  and  that  of  all  men. 
.  .  .  And  what  does  our  science  reply?  It  tri- 
umphantly announces  how  many  millions  of  miles  the 


246  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

Sun  is  from  the  Earth,  how  many  millions  of  undula- 
lations  of  ether  per  second  are  produced  by  light,  and 
how  many  undulations  of  atmosphere  by  sound;  it 
tells  of  the  chemical  composition  of  the  Milky  Way; 
it  tells  of  a  new  element,  Helium :  of  micro-organisms 
and  their  excrements,  of  the  points  in  the  hand  where 
electricity  concentrates,  of  X-rays,  and  so  on. 

4  But  all  this  is  not  at  all  what  I  am  in  need  of 
knowing,'  says  the  simple,  sensible  man.  4  I  want 
to  know  how  to  live.'  '  I  don't  care  what  you  are  in 
need  of  knowing,'  replies  Science,  4  what  you  ask  for 
refers  to  Sociology.  But  before  answering  these  ques- 
tions of  Sociology  we  must  settle  questions  of 
Zoology,  Botany,  Physiology — in  short,  Biology. 
And  in  order  to  settle  these  questions  it  is  first  neces- 
sary to  solve  questions  of  Physics,  of  Chemistry  .  .  .' 
And  men,  chiefly  those  who  sit  on  the  backs  of  others, 
and  who  can,  therefore,  conveniently  wait,  are  satis- 
fied by  such  answers,  and  continue  sitting  and  yawn- 
ing, awaiting  what  was  promised.  But  the  simple 
and  sensible  workingman,  he  on  whose  back  the  men 
studying  science  are  sitting,  the  great  mass  of  people, 
humanity  at  large,  cannot  be  satisfied  with  such  re- 
plies, and  naturally  asks  in  wonder,  4  But  when  will 
this  be?  We  cannot  wait.  You  yourselves  say  that 
you  will  find  out  all  this  after  several  generations. 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    247 

But  we  live,  we  are  alive  to-day  and  to-morrow  we 
die,  and,  therefore,  we  must  know  how  we  are  to 
live  the  life  we  are  in  now.  Teach  us,  then.' 

"  '  The  stupid  and  ignorant  man !  '  answers  Sci- 
ence ; '  he  does  not  understand  that  what  science  serves 
is  not  utility  but  science. 

"  '  Science  studies  everything,'  and  men  of  science 
'  have  invented  for  themselves  a  theory  of  science 
for  science's  sake,'  according  to  which  science  studies 
not  what  is  necessary  to  men,  but  everything.  And  all 
those  sciences  whose  object  is  to  make  life  better  and 
happier — religion,  moral  and  social  sciences — are  not 
regarded  as  sciences  by  the  reigning  science.  .  .  . 
Our  method  is  the  only  true  one,  ours  the  only  true 
science.  .  .  .  One  part  of  it,  that  which  should 
study  the  means  of  making  human  life  good  and 
happy,  is  occupied  in  justifying  the  existing  bad  order 
of  life,  and  the  other  is  absorbed  with  the  solution 
of  questions  of  idle  curiosity. 

'  How  idle  curiosity?  '  I  hear  exclaimed  by  voices 
indignant  at  such  blasphemy.  '  How  about  steam, 
electricity,  telephones,  and  all  our  technical  improve- 
ments? Not  to  speak  of  their  scientific  importance, 
observe  the  practical  results  they  have  achieved. 
Man  has  conquered  Nature,  subjected  its  forces  to 
himself.  .  .  .'  'But,'  replies  the  simple  and  sen- 


248  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

sible  man,  '  all  the  practical  results  of  man's  victory 
over  Nature  from  long  ago  up  to  the  present,  are 
applied  to  manufactures  injurious  to  the  people;  to 
means  for  exterminating  man,  to  increasing  luxury, 
dissoluteness;  and,  therefore,  man's  victory  over  Na- 
ture has  not  increased  the  welfare  of  men,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  made  their  condition  worse.'  ' 

Thus  the  exact  relation  which  the  mass  of  human- 
ity and  science  and  our  innumerable  institutions  bear 
to  one  another  becomes  obvious. 

The  civilized  man  has  no  objection  to  the  indi- 
vidual's investigation  of  any  and  everything  so  long 
as  the  latter  does  so  on  his  own  account,  and  not  on 
his,  the  civilized  man's  back,  who  knows  that  he  can 
exist  quite  comfortably  without  these  investigations. 
The  civilized  man's  indifference  to  them  means  not 
the  abolition  of  all  things,  but  merely  the  relegation 
of  science  and  our  institutions  to  their  proper  spheres 
of  action  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the  individual. 

When  Christ  said:  "Consider  the  lilies  of  the 
field,"  and  "  take  no  thought  of  the  morrow,"  he 
knew  exactly  what  he  was  talking  about  in  spite  of 
all  modern  assurances  to  the  contrary. 

The  civilized  man  has  no  quarrel  with  the  world; 
he  merely  refuses  to  allow  his  rights  to  be  encroached 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    249 

upon.  "  A  sufficient  quantity  of  the  Earth's  natural 
resources  are  at  your  disposal  to  insure  your  exist- 
ence, freedom,  and  development,"  says  the  civilized 
man.  "  Pursue  your  investigations  within  your  own 
sphere,  but  do  not  insist  upon  dragging  me  against 
my  will  under  their  influence. 

"  I  am  the  product  of  past  centuries  of  human 
travail,  and  stand  above  my  institutions — my  art,  my 
science,  my  philosophy,  and  my  religion.  I  welcome 
all  forms  of  real  progress,  but  bear  in  mind  that  I  am 
the  ideal  of  which  the  race  has  dreamed,  and  I  prefer 
to  choose  my  own  methods  of  climbing  toward  the 
stars." 

Science  and  our  institutions,  like  the  individual 
man,  must  stand  of  themselves  or  fall.  The  civilized 
man,  the  true  representative  of  the  race  and  the  per- 
fect product  of  past  human  development,  has  at  last 
arrived,  and  he  sees  things  as  they  are;  not  as  semi- 
civilized  men  are  trying  to  make  them  appear. 

He  is  fully  cognizant  of  his  divine  rights  and  mis- 
sion, those  things  which  have  made  him  what  he  is, 
and  which  alone  hold  out  hope  to  future  humanity. 
And  he  will  no  more  surrender  his  liberty  and  birth- 
right to  science,  art,  philosophy,  and  man-made  re- 
ligions, than  he  will  to  anarchism,  socialism,  plu- 
tocracy, or  corrupt  democracy. 


250  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

A  cycle  of  human  development  has  drawn  to  its 
close.  Humanity  now  stands  knocking  at  the  portals 
of  human  destiny;  they  must  open  shortly.  Which 
will  it  choose — a  life  of  freedom,  conducive  to  the 
supreme  development  of  man,  all  that  the  Earth  has 
to  offer,  or  a  continuance  of  the  slavery  and  drudgery 
bequeathed  to  it  by  past  generations  of  semi-civilized 
men ;  a  condition  in  which  individuals  or  classes  rule, 
not  the  community,  and  ignorance  and  never-ending 
misery  necessarily  prevail? 

This  is  the  turning-point  in  every  civilization — the 
problem  that  confronts  every  nation  at  some  stage 
or  other  in  its  development.  Society  must  either  leap 
forward  with  renewed  strides  toward  a  higher  life, 
or  sink  back  into  the  barbarous  conditions  of  a  more 
primitive  state. 

Political  differences  being  no  longer  matters  of 
principle,  but  merely  a  question  of  the  price  set  upon 
them  by  plutocracy  and  the  demigods  in  power, 
it  is  plain  that  the  present  social  organization 
cannot  endure  because  of  its  corrupt  moral  founda- 
tion. 

A  people  whose  chief  interest  is  that  of  material 
gain,  invariably  cheapens  its  outlook  upon  life,  and 
sows  the  seeds  of  future  revolutions.  "  The  poor 
and  powerless  of  the  present  may  become  the  wealthy 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    251 

and  strong  of  the  future,  and  vice  versa.     Perpetual 
disturbance  is  their  doom." 

It  seems  incredible  that  the  majority  of  the  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  men  inhabiting  this  planet  should 
any  longer  allow  themselves  to  be  subjected  to  the 
suffering  and  inconvenience  occasioned  by  the  cupidity 
of  ignorant,  unscrupulous  individuals  representing 
the  minority,  who  are  able  to  maintain  themselves  in 
power  through  their  purely  imaginary  right  of  con- 
trol over  land. 

"  It  is  somewhat  surprising,"  says  Sir  Oliver 
Lodge,  "  that  it  is  quite  legal  and  ordinary  for  a 
person  to  be  able  to  sell  a  portion  of  England  for 
his  own  behoof.  It  does  not  seem  to  be  reasonable, 
in  any  high  sense,  that  a  bit  of  the  country  itself 
should  belong  absolutely  to  some  individual,  so  that 
he  has  the  right  to  cut  down  trees  on  it,  to  dig  up 
the  minerals  in  it,  to  sell  either  it  or  its  coal,  to  lay 
it  waste  and  desolate  as  a  deer  forest,  or  a  cinder- 
heap,  if  it  so  pleases  him,  and  to  levy  a  tax  on  build- 
ing enterprise;  to  do,  in  fact,  what  he  likes  with  his 
own,  and  live  elsewhere  on  the  proceeds  in  idleness 
and  luxury  .  .  .  that  is  the  system  under  which  we 
have  grown  up,  and  are  absolutely  accustomed  to. 
.  .  I  do  not  think  that  matters  of  such  vital  im- 


252  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

portance  should  be  left  to  the  caprice  of  an  individual, 
nor  that  any  abuse  of  his  rights  should  be  permis- 
sible." 

Again,  says  the  Right  Honorable  Chief  Justice 
Longfield  • 

"  Property  in  land  differs  from  property  in  any 
commodity  produced  by  human  labor.  The  product 
of  labor  naturally  belongs  to  the  laborer  who  pro- 
duced it.  But  the  same  argument  does  not  apply  to 
land,  which  ...  is  the  gift  of  the  Creator  to  Man- 
kind. Every  argument  used  to  give  an  ethical 
foundation  for  the  exclusive  right  of  property  in 
land  has  a  latent  fallacy  ...  a  state  of  law  under 
which  a  country  would  exist  not  for  its  people,  but 
for  a  mere  handful  of  them,  ought  to  be  instantly 
and  absolutely  set  aside." 

It  is  idle  longer  to  temporize  with  sophistries. 
The  great  First  Cause,  the  necessity  of  Creation,  is 
the  dominant  law  of  life.  The  peace  and  wel- 
fare of  the  community  lie  in  the  common  unity 
of  individuals  and  classes,  not  in  their  estrange- 
ment and  separation,  for  what  wrecks  one,  wrecks 
all. 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    253 

The  disastrous  effects  of  class-dominance  every- 
where apparent  throughout  the  world  to-day  prove 
conclusively  that  the  over-civilization  of  man  is  quite 
as  disastrous  to  the  further  progress  of  an  intellectu- 
ally developed  race  of  men  as  a  complete  state  of  sav- 
agery would  be  were  it  forced  upon  them.  But  why 
these  privileged  classes?  Why  should  the  interests 
and  welfare  of  any  class  of  society  be  suppressed 
to  please  the  whim  or  suit  the  convenience  of  an- 
other? 

The  fact  that  a  certain  class  of  individuals  desire 
certain  conditions  that  are  distasteful  to  others  is  no 
reason  why  the  rest  of  the  community  should  accept 
them — be  forced  to  live  according  to  others'  ideas 
of  life. 

Think  of  men,  intelligent  beings,  inhabiting  a 
globe  in  space  of  but  limited  area,  from  which  there 
is  no  escape,  and  with  no  precise  or  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  the  why  and  wherefore  of  their  existence, 
from  whence  they  came  or  whither  they  are  going, 
permitting  individuals  to  buy  and  sell  the  surface  of 
the  planet  Earth,  the  ground  beneath  their  feet,  to 
destroy  forests,  to  control  mineral  deposits  and  water- 
courses ! 

Think  of  the  absurdity  and  idiocy  of  allowing 
individuals  living  in  New  York,  London,  or  Paris, 


254  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

to  control  the  destinies  of  people  living  thousands  of 
miles  distant  in  Africa,  India,  China,  California,  or 
Canada! 

The  Earth  was  not  especially  created  for  groups 
of  individuals — for  financiers,  soldiers,  merchants, 
farmers,  mechanics,  artists,  scientists,  or  nomads,  or 
any  other  conceivable  class  of  men,  but  for  the  human 
race  to  enjoy  in  common,  regardless  of  racial  or  class 
distinction,  in  order  that  the  individual,  man,  might 
develop  freely  and  naturally. 

The  Earth  was  not  created  in  order  that  men  might 
inclose  or  fence  off  greater  or  lesser  portions  of  its 
surface  to  suit  the  individual's  whim,  hindering  the 
free  development  of  the  race.  It  was  intended 
that  it  should  be  free  for  man  to  roam  over 
from  Pole  to  Pole,  from  the  rising  to  the  setting 
Sun,  independent  of  human  institutions  and  inven- 
tions created  by  individuals  solely  for  pecuniary 
ends. 

Tragic  and  pathetic  as  man's  present  situation  is, 
it  nevertheless  borders  on  the  ridiculous.  For  think 
of  a  race  of  sentient,  intelligent  beings  situated  as 
man  is  in  the  Universe,  and  possessing  a  vast  amount 
of  scientific  knowledge  and  data  concerning  this  Uni- 
verse, quietly  sanctioning  an  individual's  right  to  talk 
of  his  land,  his  forests,  his  minerals,  his  waters,  while 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    255 

knowing  full  well  that  it  would  be  quite  as  na'ive, 
absurd,  and  irrational  for  him  to  sanction  the  indi- 
vidual's right  to  talk  of  his  Sun,  his  Moon  and  Stars, 
his  Heaven  and  Hell,  his  Universe,  as  something  ex- 
clusively his  own. 


XXVI 

THE  TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE 

TT  is  not  necessary  to  become  nomads  and  live  in 
tents  in  order  to  secure  the  greatest  things  in  life 
—liberty  and  happiness. 

'  The  first  man  was  a  gardener,  we  are  told.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  first  men  were  tillers  of  the  soil, 
after  they  ceased  to  be  wandering  warriors.  That  is 
where  we  get  our  love  of  Nature;  that  is  why  we 
build  parks  and  have  flowers  clambering  about  our 
premises;  that  is  why  we  are  strangely  at  peace  when 
we  get  out  into  the  mountains  and  lose  ourselves 
among  the  fragrant  woods;  that  is  why  we  loathe 
at  times  the  smell  of  paint  that  is  on  civilization  and 
long  for  the  perfume  of  the  life  that  is  close  to  the 
green  leaves  and  the  wild  flowers." 

Wandering  warriors,  the  vision  of  the  Red  Man 
beneath    the    cedar   tree,    the    flight    of   wild    fowl 

in  the  spring  and  autumn,  the  laughter  of  children 

356 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    257 

and  humming  of  wild  bees — the  wind-tossed  ocean, 
the  broad  expanse  of  Heaven  and  Earth — what  latent 
memories,  what  emotions  do  they  arouse  within  us ! 
The  migratory  habit — the  desire  to  roam  afield  is 
strong  within  us,  for  it  is  natural. 

It  will  not  do  to  fence  or  inclose  the  entire  surface 
of  the  Earth,  preventing  the  free  movements  of  the 
individual;  sedentary  habits,  if  indulged  in  too  long, 
are  death  to  man.  He  must  be  free  to  develop 
naturally  like  any  other  creature;  otherwise  he  suffers 
the  loss  of  his  primal  instincts  as  do  domesticated 
animals. 

He  becomes  subject  to  every  form  of  disease  and 
degeneracy,  and  lacking  his  original  capability  of 
sustaining  himself  from  natural  sources,  he  is  com- 
pelled to  nourish  himself  by  artificial  means.  His 
life,  like  his  methods  of  self-support  and  his  environ- 
ment, becomes  thoroughly  artificial. 

"  I  would  not  have  every  man  nor  every  part  of  a 
man  cultivated,"  says  Thoreau,  "  any  more  than  I 
would  have  every  acre  of  earth  cultivated,  part  will 
be  tillage,  but  the  greater  part  will  be  meadow  and 
forest.  ...  In  Wildness  is  the  preservation  of  the 
world.  Every  tree  sends  its  fibers  forth  in  search  of 
the  Wild.  The  cities  import  it  at  any  price.  Men 


258  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

plow  and  sail  for  it.  From  the  forest  and  the  wilder- 
ness come  the  tonics  and  barks  which  brace  mankind. 
"  Our  ancestors  were  savages.  The  story  of 
Romulus  and  Remus  being  suckled  by  a  wolf  is  not  a 
meaningless  fable.  The  founders  of  every  state  which 
has  arisen  to  eminence  have  drawn  their  nourishment 
and  vigor  from  a  similar  wild  source.  It  is  because 
the  children  of  the  Empire  were  not  suckled  by  the 
wolf  that  they  were  conquered  and  displaced  by  the 
children  of  the  northern  forests  who  were.  I  be- 
lieve in  the  forest,  and  in  the  meadow,  and  in  the 
night  in  which  the  corn  grows.  We  require  an  in- 
fusion of  hemlock-spruce  or  arbor-vitae  in  our  tea." 

"  Man,"  says  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  "  is  a 
product  of  soil  and  climate,  and  is  brother  to  rocks, 
trees,  and  animals.  The  finest  flowers  grow  where 
there  are  the  finest  birds,  and  man  separated  from 
birds,  beasts,  and  flowers  could  not  possibly  survive." 

The  grand,  enduring  epics  of  a  people  originate 
among  its  mountains  and  forests,  its  fields  and 
streams,  not  in  its  cultivated  areas  of  land. 

The  hot-house  rose,  the  crow  of  the  barn-yard  cock, 
or  the  patient  plodding  of  the  domesticated  ox  are 
indeed  subjects  for  eulogy,  but  those  grand  flights 
of  imagination  which  lift  a  nation  to  the  supreme 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    259 

heights  in  art  and  science,  and  which  alone  survive 
when  its  material  forces  pass  away,  have  ever  found 
their  origin  in  the  flight  of  the  eagle  and  the  bounding 
of  deer;  in  the  breath  of  wild  flowers,  in  the  voices 
of  the  winds  and  waters,  and  in  the  soft  shining 
of  the  stars. 

Nothing,  we  repeat,  can  compensate  man  for  the 
loss  of  liberty.  We  should  open  our  souls  to  the 
influence  of  every  wind  that  blows.  We  must  come 
in  touch  with  Nature  to  develop  naturally — physic- 
ally and  spiritually.  We  must  come  in  direct  con- 
tact with  the  soil  from  time  to  time;  its  magnetic 
currents  are  essential  to  supply  the  waste  of  the  chem- 
ical elements  of  the  body  occasioned  by  dwelling  too 
long  in  houses  and  cities,  where  walls  and  pavements 
cut  man  off  from  the  life-giving,  magnetic  influence 
of  the  Earth  and  the  pure  air  of  heaven. 

This  is  quite  as  essential  to  the  higher  development 
or  civilization  of  mankind  as  are  the  rudiments  of 
true  culture  to  the  further  advancement  of  the  savage. 

Such  a  state  can  only  be  attained  by  freeing  the  land 
—by  creating  and  maintaining  a  free  as  well  as  a  cul- 
tivated zone — the  normal  condition  of  the  natural 
man.  Man's  return  to  Nature  does  not  mean  the 
idiotic  things  that  most  people  assert.  It  does  not 
mean  the  stripping  of  one's  clothes  from  one's  back 


26o  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

and  running  naked,  but  merely  the  simple  conform- 
ance  on  the  part  of  man  to  those  laws  which  were 
ordained  from  the  beginning  for  his  natural  develop- 
ment, and  which  are  as  much  in  force  to-day  as  they 
were  then. 

By  the  natural  man  is  not  meant  the  savage,  the 
farmer,  or  the  mentally  half-developed  nomad,  but 
man  in  his  fullness.  The  man  whose  intellectual  and 
spiritual  development  to-day  are  the  product  of  the 
direct  influences  of  the  religions,  arts,  sciences,  and 
philosophies  of  the  past.  But  since  these  religions, 
arts,  sciences,  and  philosophies  have  practically 
reached  the  limits  of  their  usefulness  as  instruments 
of  instruction  for  the  further  advancement  of  man- 
kind as  a  whole,  it  becomes  necessary  for  man  to 
recognize  and  free  himself  from  these  limitations  if 
his  psychical  unfoldment  is  to  continue  along  natural 
lines,  and  to  create  that  state  or  condition  which  will 
permit  the  further  development  of  human  knowledge 
without  making  himself  subservient  to  that  condition. 

We  are  returning  to  first  principles  or  Nature,  not 
for  the  realization  of  material  ends  and  aims,  but 
with  a  more  distinct  idea  of  the  purpose  of  man's 
sojourn  on  Earth  and  of  his  relationship  to  God  and 
the  Universe.  And  it  is  high  time  for  humanity  to 
free  itself  from  the  superstitious,  hypnotic  influences 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    261 

of  these  arts,  sciences,  and  philosophies  which  have 
served  their  purpose  as  instruments  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  race  as  a  whole. 

The  human  mind  is  still  so  stupefied  by  the  in- 
fluences, tendencies,  and  prejudices  of  the  past  that 
it  is  only  half  awake.  We  think,  live,  and  act  as  did 
our  ancestors,  and  like  them  still  permit  ourselves  to 
be  ruled  through  the  power  of  organized  violence, 
called  law,  or  the  immoral  persuasion  of  unscrupulous 
individuals,  and  the  superstitions  of  outworn  institu- 
tions established  by  those  who  have  lived  before  us. 

"  The  skeleton  hand  of  the  past,"  says  Ibsen, 
"  throttles  the  throat  of  the  present.  We  not  only 
live  in  dead  men's  houses  and  read  dead  men's  books 
and  enjoy  dead  men's  fortunes,  but  we  believe  in 
the  religions  and  conventions  which  dead  men  in- 
vented, and  we  inherit  the  diseases  that  dead  men  have 
bequeathed  to  us.  Government,  municipal  and  demo- 
cratic, is  a  legacy  from  the  past.  The  relation  of  the 
sexes  and  of  parents  and  children  are  based  upon 
outworn  creeds.  We  do  not  follow  our  own  rules 
of  morality,  and  those  rules  are  the  product  of  a  pre- 
scientific  and  semi-savage  period." 

Are  the  majority  of  men  incapable  of  grasping 
this  truth,  of  realizing  that  the  greatest  crime  a  man 


262  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

can  commit  to-day  is  to  leave  as  a  legacy  to  his 
children  our  present  social  conditions  which  as  we 
know  full  well  can  only  be  maintained  by  deceit, 
subterfuge,  force,  and  violence,  and  which  in  the  end 
must  make  rogues  of  men  ? 

The  fact  that  our  ancestors  bequeathed  these  con- 
ditions to  us  is  no  reason  why  we  should  continue  to 
uphold  them — bequeath  them  to  our  children.  Our 
lives  are  no  more  a  part  of  their  lives  than  our  times 
are  a  part  of  their  times.  Nor  will  coming  genera- 
tions of  men  be  any  more  capable  of  accepting  our 
threadbare  conceptions  of  life,  and  enduring  the  de- 
basing influences  of  present  conditions  than  we  would 
be  of  returning  to  the  social  conditions  of  the  Middle 
Ages. 

Under  existing  conditions,  the  success  of  one 
means  the  ruin  of  another.  It  cannot  be  other- 
wise. 

This  ancient  conception  of  creation's  purpose,  that 
the  Earth  was  intended  for  a  toy,  that  it  and  its  re- 
sources might  be  seized  and  controlled  by  individuals 
while  the  rest  of  humanity  went  begging,  is  still  held 
by  the  majority  of  men.  And  just  so  long  as  we  con- 
tinue in  this  belief,  and  fail  to  assert  our  incontestable 
right  and  title  to  all  things  which  our  bountiful 
Mother  Earth  holds  in  store  for  us,  just  so  long  must 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE    263 

the  human  race  continue  to  be  crushed  and  broken 
on  the  wheel  of  life. 

Why  then  a  continuance  of  this  agonized,  fruitless 
struggle,  whose  soulless,  purposeless  aims  must  ever 
fall  short  of  all  sane  attainment? 

Shall  the  famous  lines  of  Campanella  with  which 
he  stigmatized  humanity  forever  stand  a  witness  to 
our  stupidity: — 

"  The  people  is  a  beast  of  muddy  brain 
That  knows  not  its  own  strength,  and  therefore 

stands 

Loaded  with  wood  and  stone ;  the  powerless  hands 
Of  a  mere  child  guide  it  with  bit  and  rein; 
One  kick  would  be  enough  to  break  the  chain; 
But  the  beast  fears,  and  what  the  child  demands 
It  does;  nor  its  own  terror  understands, 
Confused  and  stupefied  by  bugbears  vain. 
Most  wonderful !  with  its  own  hand  it  ties 
And  gags  itself — gives  itself  death  and  war 
For  pence  doled  out  by  kings  from  its  own  store. 
Its  own  are  all  things  between  Earth  and  Heaven; 
But  this  it  knows  not;  and  if  one  arise 
To  tell  this  truth,  it  kills  him  unforgiven." 

Perhaps,  after  we  have  eaten  grass  with  Nebuch- 
adnezzar and  the  ox  a  while  longer,  and  our  ideals  of 


264  MAN'S  BIRTHRIGHT 

life  begin  to  rise  above  our  longings  for  cheap  beer 
and  tobacco,  we  shall  arise  and  reclaim  our  birthright ! 
Man  is  the  maker  of  his  own  destiny.  The  Uni- 
verse is  his.  It  is  his  heritage,  and  contains  no  secret 
which  he  shall  not  grasp. 

u  No  man,"  said  Canon  Farrar,  "  can  pass  into 
eternity  for  he  is  already  in  it.  The  dead  are  no 
more  in  eternity  now  than  they  always  were,  or  than 
every  one  of  us  is  at  this  moment. 

"  We  may  ignore  the  things  eternal;  shut  our  eyes 
hard  to  them;  live  as  though  they  had  no  existence— 
nevertheless,  eternity  is  around  us  here,  now  at  this 
moment,  at  all  moments;  and  it  will  have  been  around 
us  every  day  of  our  ignorant,  sinful,  selfish  lives.  Its 
stars  are  ever  over  our  heads,  while  we  are  so  diligent 
in  the  dust  of  our  worldliness,  or  in  the  tainted  stream 
of  our  desires.  The  dull  brute  globe  moves  through 
its  ether  and  knows  it  not;  even  so  our  souls  are 
bathed  in  eternity  and  are  never  conscious  of  it." 

There  is  no  escape  from  life's  eternal  May;  like 
eternity  it  is  measureless,  timeless,  nameless.  Then 
why  not  live  to-day  as  we  would  live  to-morrow? 

Verily,  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard,  for 
Nature  invariably  avenges  herself  on  him  who  vio- 


TRUTH  SHALL  MAKE  YOU  FREE     265 

lates  her  laws.  Of  the  cup  of  bitterness  which  man 
has  prepared  for  himself,  and  which  is  now  held  to 
his  lips,  he  shall  drink.  Ay,  he  shall  not  only  drink 
of  it  once,  but  twice  and  thrice  over  even  to  the  dregs 
until  he  is  again  willing  to  return  unto  his  Mother, 
the  Earth,  the  birthright  which  She  bestowed  upon 
him  in  the  beginning.  The  sacred  birthright  which 
She  lent  him  for  use  only,  but  which  he  has  seized 
and  bartered  away  for  that  miserable  mess  of  pottage, 
individual  ownership  and  control  of  Her  natural 
resources. 


EPILOGUE 

CHILDREN  of  Earth,  you  have  been  robbed  of 
your  Birthright  through  the  iniquities  of  your 
Fathers,  who  like  yourselves  were  not  without  sin. 
But  in  order  that  the  sins  of  the  Fathers  may  not 
again  be  visited  upon  the  Sons,  see  that  you  follow 
not  in  their  footsteps. 

Children  of  Earth,  you  have  been  robbed  of  your 
birthright;  reclaim  it! 


APPENDIX 
INDEX  TO  APPENDIX 

PAGE 

1.  Domestic  Consumption  of  Flour  per  capita. . . .     267 

2.  Estimate  of  per  capita  Consumption  of  Wheat 

in   Certain   Countries 268 

3.  The  per  capita  Annual  Consumption  of  Wheat 

in  the  United  Kingdom 270 

4.  Small  Farms  from  One  to  Twenty  Acres 270 

5.  Yields  of  Wheat  per  Acre -..,..  271 

6.  Yields  of  Corn  per  Acre 273 

7.  Yields  of  Potatoes  per  Acre 277 

8.  Examples  in  Dry  Farming  with  and  without  Ir- 

rigation in  the  Semi-arid  Regions  of  the 
United  States 281 

9.  Raising  Dates  in  the  Sahara  Desert 284 

10.  List  of    what  a  One- Acre  Farm    contains    in 

the  Sacramento  Valley,  California 285 

11.  List  of  Products  raised  by  Mr.  Vincent,  Brighton, 

England,  on  Half  an  Acre  of  Land 286 

12.  Information    Concerning   the    raising   of   Game, 

Also  Information  Concerning  Fish-  and  Bee- 
Culture,  the  rearing  of  Squabs,  Drug-plants, 
and  other  Novel  and  Profitable  Uses  of  Land  288 

13.  History  of  "The  Twenty- Acre  Farm" 301 

APPENDIX  No.  i 

"The   census    [Twelfth   Census   of   the   United   States, 
1900,  Vol.  VI.  Agr.    Part  II,  p.  32]  estimates  the  domestic 

367 


268  APPENDIX 

consumption  of  flour  to  be  equal  to  5.31  bushels  of  wheat  per 
capita  in  1900,  as  compared  with  5.29  bushels  in  1890.  As 
it  takes  4.77  bushels  of  wheat  to  make  a  barrel  of  flour,  this 
is  i.i  barrels  of  flour  per  inhabitant.  About  1.4  bushels  per 
acre,  or  about  1 1  per  cent,  of  the  normal  crop,  is  estimated 
to  be  required  for  seed.  This  makes  the  total  requirement, 
aside  from  its  use  as  food  for  domestic  animals  and  such 
secondary  uses  as  breakfast  foods,  6.29  bushels  per  inhabitant, 
or  about  475  million  for  the  United  States  in  1900.  .  .  . 
For  the  five  years  ending  in  1902,  the  production  of  wheat 
in  Europe  has  been  4.1  bushels  per  capita.  The  net  import 
of  wheat  has  been  something  less  than  one  bushel  per 
capita.  This  does  not,  however,  represent  Europe's  total 
bread  requirement,  as  large  quantities  of  rye  bread  are  used 
by  the  inhabitants  of  several  European  countries."  ' 

"  Yield  per  acre.  .  .  .  The  two  countries  which 
produce  the  most  wheat  have  the  smallest  yield  per  acre. 
The  average  yield  of  wheat  in  bushels  per  acre,  1894-1900: 

'  United  Kingdom 31.8 

Germany    26.0 

France    19.4 

Hungary    17.1 

Austria 16.4 

United   States    13.4 

Russia 9.0  " 

APPENDIX  No.  2 

"  An  estimate  of  the  per  capita  consumption  of  wheat  in 
certain  countries  was  presented  to  the  British  Royal  Com- 

•  "  The  Cereals  in  America":  Thomas  F.  Hunt.     1905.    p.  126. 


APPENDIX  269 

mission  on  Supply  of  Food  and  Raw  Material  in  Time  of 
War,  by  Mr.  W.  S.  Patterson  of  the  Liverpool  Corn 
Trade  Association.  The  estimate  and  remarks  prefacing  it 
are  as  follows :  *  'It  is  possible  to  make  a  fairly  accurate 
estimate  of  the  per  capita  consumption  of  wheat  in  the 
United  Kingdom  because  by  far  the  largest  proportion  of 
the  whole  comes  from  abroad  and  can  be  exactly  ascertained. 
This  remark  would  also  apply  to  Belgium,  Holland,  and 
possibly  one  or  two  minor  countries.  .  .  .  The  quantity 
used  for  reseeding,  which  varies  somewhat  in  different  coun- 
tries and  must  to  some  extent  be  estimated,  and  also  any 
small  quantity  used  for  farm-seeding  or  sizing  for  manu- 
factures, must  be  deducted.  Taking  all  these  things  into 
consideration,  and  after  consulting  the  figures  for  a  few 
years  past,  I  beg  to  submit  the  following  estimates  for  food 
consumption  per  capita  in  bushels  of  60  pounds: 

I.  In  Importing  Countries       II.  In   Exporting   Countries 

Bu.  Bu. 

United  Kingdom   5.6     United  States 4.7 

Germany   3.2     Canada    5.5 

Belgium 7.2     Russia 2.6 

France 7.8     Balkan  Provinces    . .   4.3 

Holland 3.9     India    0.7 

Italy 4.4     Australia 5.5 

Spain    5.3     Argentina 4.0  ' ' 

Portugal    2.5 

Sweden    2. 

Greece  3.3 

Austria-Hungary ,  3.6 

Switzerland 5.7 

*  Crop  Reporter,  September,  1905. 


270  APPENDIX 

APPENDIX  No.  3 

A  more  recent  report  shows  Mr.  Blatchford's  figures  to 
be  somewhat  in  error.  According  to  Thomas  F.  Hunt,  the 
average  yield  of  wheat  in  bushels  per  acre  from  1894-1900 
for  the  United  Kingdom  was  31.8  bushels.  According  to 
the  Crop  Reporter,  Washington,  D.  C.,  September,  1905, 
the  per  capita  annual  consumption  of  wheat  in  the  United 
Kingdom  is  5.6  bushels.  Allowing  6  bushels  for  the  per 
capita  consumption  of  wheat,  the  40,000,000  inhabitants 
would  consume  annually  240,000,000  bushels  of  wheat.  At 
31.8  bushels  the  acre,  8,000,000  acres  would  produce  254,- 
400,000  bushels  of  wheat.  This  gives  240,000,000  bushels 
required  for  the  annual  consumption  of  the  United  King- 
dom, also  allows  11,200,000  bushels  annually  for  reseeding, 
and  still  leaves  3,200,000  bushels  over  and  above  require- 
ments. 

APPENDIX  No.  4 
United  States  * 

Farms  under  3  acres   41,882 

Farms  of  3  acres  and  under 226,564 

"       "  10     "      "         "       407,012 

England 

Farms  above  I  acre  and  not  exceeding  5.  .     87,055 
"       5     "       "     "  "       20..    108,145 

France 

Farms  less  than  2.47  acres 2,235,405 

"       of  2.47-12.35     "      1,829,259 

Germany 

Farms  less  than  2.47  acres 2,529,132 

"      of  2.47-12.35     "      1,723,553 

*  Statistics  for  1892  and  1895.  Number  of  small  farms  in  the 
United  States  is  steadily  increasing. 


APPENDIX  271 

APPENDIX  No.  5 

WHEAT 

Northeast  Sub-Experiment  Station  of  the  University  of 
Minnesota : 

1898.  White  Russian 61  bushels  per  acre. 

1899.  "          "        54.6     "       "     " 

Michigan  Board  of  Agriculture.     Upper  Peninsula,  Sub- 
station, 1 90 1  - 1 902 :  * 

Fall  Wheat — Dawson 41  bushels  per  acre. 

Agriculture  Experiment  Station,  Stillwater,  Okla.f  Vari- 
ety, Fulcaster — 1901 : 

Early  Plowing 43.6  bushels  per  acre. 

Medium     "        38.2       "         "      " 

Late          "         ... 40.2       "         "      " 

Wheat — 1879  % 

Producer  Locality  Variety     »  Yield  per  Acre 

Bushels 

C.  H.  Daun       Warsaw,  N.  Y.          Clawson     46 

N.  W.  Dean      Madison,  Wis.  Red  Winter  ...  45 

A.  E.  Blout         Fort  Collins,  Ool.      Australian 59 

John  McClellan  Minneapolis,  Minn.  Red  Winter  ...  61^ 
Ed.  Short  Salina,  Kan.  "  "        ...   56 

E.  L.  Russel       Tecumseh,  Mich.       Deihl 42^ 

Geo.  Lester        Raisen,  Mich.  "      47 

James  Penrose  Coatsville,  Pa.  Fultz 54 

James  H.  Hess  Columbus,  Ohio  "     46^ 

W.  H.  Colcord  St.  Joseph,  Mo.          Clawson    49 

R.  Johnson         E.  Groveland,  N.  Y.  Clawson  &  Wicks  60 

*L.  M.  Geisraar,  Superintendent,  Special  Bulletin  No.  2O. 

f  Bulletin  No.  65,  June,  1905.     Table  3,  p.  13. 

$"  Wheat  Culture":  D.  S.  Curtis,  1888;  4th  Edition,  1890. 


272 


APPENDIX 


(1)  Pullman,  Wash:* 

Plat   No.    14.     Planted   Nov.   20-21,    1894 — Theiss,    57.5 

bushels  per  acre. 
Plat  No.  20.     Planted  Nov.  20-21,   1894 — White  Track, 

57.1  bushels  per  acre. 

(2)  igoi.f  Spring  Wheat 


Sown 


Ripe 


Yield  per  Acre 
Bushels 


Red  Fife May  2  Aug.  27  48 

Preston    "4  "     16  45 

Huron    "4  "22  45 

1904-t 

Red  Fife Apr.  29  Sept.  5  39 

Preston    "28  Aug.  26  38 

(3)  The     Experimental     Farm    at     Brandon,     Manitoba, 
Canada:  $ 

Variety  Yield  per  Acre 

Bushels 

Red  Velvet  Chaff 40 

Turkey  Red 39 

Abundance    39 

American  Banner 38 

Karkov 38 

Imperial  Amber 37 

Red  Chief 36 

The  yield  per  acre  is  expressed  in  bushels  of  sixty 
pounds. 

*  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Washington  State  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Station,  June  30,  1895.  Pullman,  Wash.  W.  J.  Spillman, 
Agriculturist. 

t "  Experimental  Farms  Report":  William  Saunders,  Director. 
Ottawa,  Canada,  December  i,  1904. 

£"  Experimentalist ":  Charles  E.  Saunders. 


APPENDIX  273 

Macaroni  Wheat  * 

Variety  Yield  per  Acre     Weight  per  measured 

bushel  after  cleaning 
Roumanian  ...............  39  bus.  63     Ibs. 

Velvet  Don  ........  .......   36    "  63^2  " 

Goose  ...................   35    " 


Spring  Wheat  —  1904  f 

Varieties  Yield  per  Acre   Weight  per  bushel 

Monarch  ..............   50  bus.    20  Ibs.  63^2  Ibs. 

Advance    ..............   49    "      45  "  59       " 

White  Russian  .........  48    "      50  "  60^  " 

Power's  Fife  [Minn.  149]   48    "      40  "  63^  " 

McKendry's  [Minn.  188]   45    "       30  "  62^  " 

Minnesota  No.  163  .....  45    "      20  "  62l/2  " 

Australia  No.  19  ........   44    "      20  "  62       " 

Red  Fife  ..............  43    "        5  "  62^  " 

Laurel   ...........  .....   42    "      50  "  62       " 

Wellman's  Fife   ........   42    "      50  "  62^  " 

Stanley    ...............   42    "      25  "  64       " 

Benton     ...............   42    "       15  "  63       " 

Clyde  .................   41    "      50  "  62       " 

Australia  No.  9  ........   41    "      40  "  63^  " 

Huron,  Old  Land  ......  42    "      47  "  63      " 

APPENDIX  No.  6 
CORN 

"  In  1902  the  high  protein  plat  produced  74.6  and  86.4 
bushels  per  acre. 

*  "  Experimental  Farms  Reports."    Report  of  Mr.  Angus  Mackay, 
Superintendent. 
f  Experimental  Farm,  Indian  Head,  N.W.T.,  Canada,  1905. 


274  APPENDIX 

"  In  1904  rows  22  and  21  produced  79.2  and  96.4  bushels 
per  acre."  * 

"  In  1889  Zachariah  Jordan  Drake,  in  Marlborough  Co., 
South  Carolina,  grew  255  bushels  of  shelled  corn  from  one 
acre. 

"  Drake's  crop  was  harvested  November  25  before  several 
reputable  witnesses. 

"  It  gave  254  bushels,  49  Ibs.  of  shelled  corn  at  56  Ibs.  to 
the  bushel."  f 

"  Let  us  follow  the  progeny  of  a  high  yielding  and  Grand 
Champion  mother  ear  into  the  second  or  third  generation. 

"  In  the  spring  of  1901  in  connection  with  several  thou- 
sand other  ears  of  corn,  all  gathered  and  selected  with  the 
utmost  care,  a  certain  ear,  whose  record  number  shows  as 
No.  12  a.,  yielded  at  the  rate  of  64  bushels  per  acre.  That 
year  being  an  exceedingly  dry  year,  the  yield  of  64  bushels 
was  considered  quite  large  when  we  took  into  account  the 
average  yield  under  field  conditions  for  that  year. 

"  Following  the  high  standard  and  rigid  selection  in  the 
seed,  only  two  ears  were  found  which  could  qualify  as  good 
or  better  than  the  mother  ear. 

'These  two  ears  were  given  the  numbers  24  and  120  of 
this  particular  variety  of  corn  and  they  were  planted  in  in- 
dividual rows,  not  side  by  side,  but  along  with  other  pedigreed 
ears  of  high  merit,  in  two  separate  fields.  Both  of  these 
ears  proved  to  be  the  Grand  Champions  of  their  breeding 
block;  yielding  91  and  90  bushels  respectively,  and  from  each 
of  these,  seed  was  selected. 

"  From  ear  24  we  have  five  ears  whose  yield  the  following 

*  C.  J.  Hopkins,  L.  H.  Smith,  E.  M.  East.     Illinois  Station.     Bul- 
letin  No.   100. 
f'The  Book  of  Corn,"  Orange  Judd  Publishing  Company,  1903. 


APPENDIX 


275 


year  was  respectively  123,  93,  118,  117,  and  137  bushels 
per  acre;  and  from  No.  120,  five  ears  yielding  133,  117,  144, 
126,  and  132  bushels  per  acre."  * 


FUNKS  YELLOW   DENT 
Strain  No.  140. — Protein 


1902 


1903 


1904 


"*:Ear  No.  237..  J 

**Ear  No.  388,  yield  100  bu. 

<?  yield  131  bu.    j 

TT  Ear  No.  309,  yield  117  bu. 

M 

.  Ear  No.  307,  yield  117  bu. 

Ear  No.  210.  .  ^ 

;  Ear  No.  370,  yield  125  bu. 

yield  97  bu. 

.  Ear  No.  316,  yield  115  bu. 

Ear  No.  140  

k     Ear  No.  380,  yield  121  bu. 

yield  in  bu. 

H 

Ear  No.  392,  yield  139  bu. 

Av.  protein,  12%. 

5 

Ear  No.  387,  yield  no  bu. 

•4-* 

.S  Ear  No.  326,  yield  119  bu. 

&, 

£  Ear  No.  314,  yield  123  bu. 

^  Ear  No.  125.. 

8  Ear  No.  310,  yield  117  bu. 

<;    yield  145  bu. 

^Ear  No.  322,  yield  123  bu. 

So  Ear  No.  330,  yield  115  bu. 

g  Ear  No.  318,  yield  122  bu. 

£  Ear  No.  328,  yield  120  bu. 

<;  Ear  No.  333,  yield  113  bu. 

This  strain  yielded  108  bu.  in  1904,  and  the  seed  we  sell  from  this 
strain  averages  11.87$  in  protein. 


1902 


Strain  No.  119. — Oil 
1903 


Ear  No.  119 j 

yield  145  bu.      ( 


Ear  No.  221. . 
yield  133  bu. 


1904 

^  No.  322,  yield  101  bu. 
^-t^  Ear  No. 0328, yield  118  bu. 
'3  '"Ear  No.  336,  yield  119  bu. 

Ear  No.  331,  yield  116  bu. 

Ear  No.  342,  yield  no  bu. 

This  strain  yielded  103  bu.  in  1904,  and  the  seed  we  sell  from  this 
strain  averages  5.16$  in  oil. 

*  Address  delivered  before  the  Congress  of  Experiment  Stations 
and  Colleges  of  Agriculture  on  Commercial  Corn  Breeding  at  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  October  8,  1904,  by  E.  D.  Funk. 


276 


APPENDIX 


'v  Ear  No.  205.  . 
_  o    yield  122  bu. 

'5  &. 


Strain  No.  205. — Oil 

1903  1904 

;Ear  No  376,  yield  119  bu. 
Ear  No.  351,  yield  132  bu. 
'  Ear  No.  323,  yield  126  bu. 
Ear  No.  304,  yield  121  bu. 
Ear  No.  314,  yield  114  bu. 
Ear  No.  320,  yield  121  bu. 
Ear  No.  307,  yield  1 14  bu. 
rd  Ear  No.  326,  yield  121  bu. 
°  Ear  No.  317,  yield  117  bu. 
S;Ear  No.  340,  yield  116  bu. 
2  Ear  No.  337,  yield  115  bu. 
£  Ear  No.  378,  yield  114  bu. 
<;  Ear  No.  339,  yield  115  bu. 
This  strain  averaged  118  bushels  in  yield  in  1904,  and  the  seed 
we  sell  from  this  strain  averages  5.20$  in  oil. 
BOONE  CO.  SPECIAL 
Strain  No.  135. — Protein 
1902  1903  1904 

^  TT«^  TM«  (  ^  Ear  No-  320,  yield  roo  bu. 

^    Slid  88  bu  '  1  *  Ear  No'  3"  yield  97  bu. 
jo    yxeld  K  bu.    |  <o  Ear  No  3lfi>  yjeld  96  bu 


cS  at 


Ear  No.  135. . . 
yield  114  bu. 


:  Ear  No.  P3I2, yield  n6bu. 
Ear  No  318,  yield  99  bu. 
No'  PS**!  yield  99  bu. 


0  Ear  No.  227 
yield  101  bt 

i     r^  .  -    _ 

Ear  No  371,  yield  in  bu. 
This  strain  averaged  101  bushels  in  1904,  and  the  seed  we  sell 
from  this  strain  averages  12.03?*  in  protein. 

Strain  No.  103. — Oil 
1902  1903  1904 

'•  Ear  No.  320,  yield  no  bu. 
Ear  No.  335,  yield  105  bu. 
Ear  No.  325,  yield  102  bu. 

Ear  No.  328,  yield  100  bu. 

~  Ear  No.  308,  yield  105  bu. 
5  Ear  No.  305,  yield  101  bu. 

_  Ear  No.  304,  yield  120  bu. 
g  Ear  No.  351,  yield  120  bu. 
<;  Ear  No. 0312,  yield  102 bu. 

This  strain  averaged  107  bushels  in  yield  in  1904,  and  the  seed  we 
sell  from  this  strain  averages  5.20$  in  oil. 


o,  Ear  No.  207  . 

\    0 

J  "• 

ui  yield  144  bu. 

i- 

Ear  No.  225. 

j 

Ear  No.  103 

yield  117  bu. 

1 

yield  91  bu. 
Analyzed    5.95^ 

~  Ear  No.  234. 

3    yield  126  bu. 

o>    J 

i? 

ID 

in  oil. 

bo 
rt 

b 

Ear  No.  201 . . 
yield  133  bu. 


APPENDIX  277 

GOLD  STANDARD  LEAKING 
Strain  No.  201. — Protein 

1903  1904 

ff         Ear  No.  313,  yield  117  bu. 
o'-^  o  ^  Ear  No.  326,  yield  117  bu. 

&;§  Ear  No.  201. .  J  eu<g  Ear  No.  380,  yield  113  bu. 
.;  „'    yield  94  bu.     j  >  «  Ear  No.  355,  yield  112  bu. 
I  <5  M  <J  M  Ear  No.  365,  yield  112  bu. 

Ear  No.  370,  yield  105  bu. 

This  strain  averaged  112  bushels  in  yield  in  1904,  and  the  seed 
we  sell  from  this  strain  averages  11.33$  in  protein.* 

Ordinary  corn  contains  about  10.20  per  cent,  protein  and 
4.30  per  cent.  oil. 

APPENDIX  No.  7 
POTATOES 

While  the  average  crop  of  potatoes  throughout  the  State 
of  New  York  during  1897  was  only  5°  to  65  bushels  per 
acre,  the  yield  at  the  Cornell  University  Experiment  Station 
was  over  300  bushels  per  acre. 

"  The  yield  was  not  obtained  by  the  liberal  use  of  fertilizer 
or  manure.  .  .  .  The  soil,  instead  of  being  naturally  more 
fertile  than  ordinary  soils,  has  been  found  by  analysis  to 
be  carrying  only  about  one-half  the  total  amount  of  plant 
food  carried  by  the  average  soil. 

"  The  satisfactory  results  obtained  can  only  be  ascribed 
to  the  culture  and  treatment  given  .  .  .  while  the  yield 
was  fair,  yet  it  was  in  no  way  remarkable  and  was  not  in 
excess  of  what  should  be  realized  by  every  potato  raiser  should 
the  proper  method  be  practiced."  f 

*  Corn  Chart,  issued  by  Funk  Brothers  Seed  Company,  1905. 
Bloomington,  111. 

t  Bulletin  140,  November,  1897.  Cornell  University  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station. 


278 


APPENDIX 


"The  following  figures  indicate  the  yield  of  potatoes 
planted  late  as  compared  with  those  planted  early  for  two 
years: * 


1903 


1904 


Date 
Planted 

Date 
Dug 

Total 
yield 
per  acre 
Bushels 

Date 
Planted 

Date 
Dug 

Total 
yield 
per  acre 
Bushels 

Doe's  Pride  .... 
Doe's  Pride  

May  7 
Tulv  7 

Oct.20 

Oct.  20 

326.46 
IQ1.O6 

May  12 
Tulv  12 

Sept.  28 
Sept.28 

439-59 
101.18 

Green  Mountain 

May  7 

Oct.  20 

411.66 

Green  Mountain 

July  6 

Oct.  20 

187.87 

"  In  1895,  an  unusually  good  year,  the  yield  of  the  plat 
No.  22  was  415  bushels  per  acre."  f 

"  Regular  area  yielded  at  the  rate  of  200  bushels  per 
acre,  while  the  special  area  [fertilized  and  worked  level], 
yielded  390  bushels  per  acre;  a  gain  of  190  bushels  per  acre  in 
favor  of  superior  treatment."  J 

"  Potatoes  with  three  cultivations,  hilled,  yielded  252 
bushels  per  acre,  while  those  with  nine  cultivations,  level, 
yielded  311  bushels  per  acre."  § 

Minnesota  Experiment  Station.     North  East  Farm.    Chi- 

*  Bulletin  230,  June,  1905.  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Cor- 
nell University. 

t  Bulletin  140.  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Cornell  Uni- 
versity. 

%  G.  W.  Hamilton,  Madison  County,  New  York. 

§  H.   L.   Beadle,   Washington   County,   New   York. 


APPENDIX  279 

cago  Division,  1896:  260  bushels  per  acre;  253.2  bushels  per 
acre;  249.8  bushels  per  acre. 

Oregon  Experiment  Station.  Willamette  Valley,  Ore., 
1896:  396  bushels  per  acre. 

Michigan,  Upper  Peninsula,  Substation :  "  Dolsen  " — rate 
of  yield,  290  bushels  per  acre.* 

The  Country  Gentleman  for  November  2,  1905,  reports  a 
yield  of  sweet  potatoes  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  at  the  rate  of  521 
bushels  per  acre. 

1.  At  Brandon,   Manitoba,   Canada,  yields  of   forty-nine 
varieties  of  potatoes  ranged  from  291  to  887  bus.  20  Ibs.  per 
acre.      Dreer   Standard    headed    the   list    in    productiveness. 
The  twelve  varieties  standing  next  varied  in  yield,  from  700 
to  799  bus.  20  Ibs.,  per  acre.f 

2.  At  Indian  Head,  Seedling  No.  7,  and  Vermont  Gold 
Coin,  headed  the  list  with  yields  per  acre  of  640  bus.  48  Ibs., 
and  625  bus.  24  Ibs.,  respectively. 

Twelve  Best  Yielding  Potatoes  $ 
Average  Yield  for  Five  Years,  1900-1904 

Name  of  Variety  Average  Yield  per  Acre 

Bus.  Lbs. 

Dr.   Maercher    496  19 

Late  Puritan 485  19 

*  L.  M.  Geismar.     Michigan  Station.     Special  Bulletin  No.  31. 

t "  Experiment  Station  Record,"  October,  1906.  Vol.  XVIII,  No. 
2.  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture — Canada  Experimental 
Farms,  Reports,  1905. 

$  Central  Experimental  Farm.  Report  of  Horticulturist,  W.  T. 
Macoun.  "Experimental  Farms  Report"  for  1904.  Published 
at  Ottawa,  Canada,  1905. 


280  APPENDIX 

Name  of  Variety  Average  Yield  per  Acre 

Bus.  Lbs. 

Burnaby    Mammoth    483  34 

Money  Maker 482  41 

Carman  No.  i    459  48 

Dreer's  Standard   458  55 

Sabeau's  Elephant    454  58 

Canadian  Beauty   452  46 

Rural  Blush  437  48 

IXL 433  50 

Pearce  433  24 

Clay  Rose 432  58 


Test  of  Varieties  * 

Marketable  Yield 

Name  of  Variety                       Yield  per  Acre  per  Acre 

Bus.          Lbs.  Bus.        Lbs. 

Vermont  Gold  Coin    ...    554         24  475          12 

Morgan's  Seedling 514         48  413         36 

Carman  No.  i    501         36  409         12 

Dr.   Maercher    501         36  382         48 

Dooley    479         36  409         12 


Additional  Varieties.     Tested  1904  f 

Name  of  Variety  Total  Yield  per  Acre 

Bus.  Lbs. 

Ashleaf  Kidney  Heber  Rawlings  .  .    545  36 

Dalmeny   Beauty    519  12 

White  Albino 501  36 

•"Experimental  Farms  Reports,"  Canada,   1904. 

t "  Experimental  Farms  Reports,"  Forest,  Canada,  1904. 


APPENDIX  281 

APPENDIX  No.  8 

Examples  in  Dry  Farming*  and  in  Farming  with  and 
without  Irrigation  in  the  Semi-arid  Regions  of  the 
United  States 

"  The  Government  Crop  Reports  f  show  that  the  aver- 
age yield  of  Washington  wheat  fields  has  advanced  from 
17.7  bushels  per  acre  in  1892,  to  29.1  in  1901.  These  yields 
were  obtained  without  irrigation  or  fertilization. 

Individual  yields  of  wheat  from  40  bushels  to  50  bushels 
per  acre  on  i6o-acre  farms  are  common. 

All  other  cereals  do  as  well.  Government  statistics  show 
that  the  average  yield  per  acre  for  the  last  ten  years  of  oats 
was  39.58  bushels;  barley,  35.90;  potatoes,  124  bushels. 

"  Individual  yields  run  as  high  as  125  bushels  of  oats,  80 
bushels  of  barley,  and  300  bushels  of  potatoes,  all  without 
irrigation  or  fertilization.  Corn  yields  as  high  as  40  bushels 
per  acre. 

"  The  man  with  small  means  will  find  here  opportunities 
unequaled  in  the  Pacific  Northwest.  As  an  instance  of  what 
can  be  done  with  a  small  tract  of  land,  a  Mr.  Olmstead  in 
1904  sold  $2,480  worth  of  tomatoes  and  other  vegetables 
from  seven  acres  of  Spokane  Valley  irrigated  land. 

"  G.  Kruger  of  Cheney,  in  1904,  sold  $6,400  worth  of 
cherries  from  an  eight-acre  orchard.  Of  this  amount  60  per 
cent,  was  net  profit." 

Professor  W.  M.  Jardine,  who  has  been  in  charge  of  the 

*  The  secret  of  Dry  Farming  consists  in  retaining  the  moisture  in 
the  soil  by  such  methods  of  soil  culture  as  best  promote  percolation 
and  capillary  attraction  of  moisture.  The  method  is  fully  described 
in  "  Campbell's  Soil  Culture  Manual." 

t  Official  Circular  issued  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at 
Spokane,  Wash.,  1906. 


282  APPENDIX 

dry  land  experimental  work  in  Utah  since  its  inception  by 
that  State,  says :  "  One  of  the  most  successful  farmers  in 
the  State  who  is  located  in  a  belt  receiving  thirteen  inches 
[rain],  writes  that  eighty  acres  which  he  plowed  just  after 
the  harvest  of  the  previous  crop  and  kept  well  cultivated 
through  the  fallow  season,  yielded  40  bushels  per  acre  of 
wheat  last  summer."  * 

In  the  March  number  of  The  Scientific  Farmer,  1906, 
Mr.  C.  L.  Wilson  of  Loveland,  Col.,  reports  harvesting 
53  bushels  of  Red  Russian  wheat  per  acre  from  25  acres. 

Mr.  J.  H.  McMann  of  Miles  City,  Mont.,  harvested 
from  20  acres  54  bushels  per  acre  of  winter  wheat  in  1905.! 

In  the  Durango  District  in  La  Plata  County,  Col.,  with 
an  annual  rainfall  of  from  fifteen  to  sixteen  inches,  and 
probably  the  richest  soil  in  Colorado, — "  Oat  yields  from 
100  to  1 20  bushels  per  acre  are  by  no  means  uncommon, 
while  wheat  runs  all  the  way  from  40  to  80  and  sometimes 
90  bushels  per  acre."  J 

The  Pomeroy  Model  Farm  at  Hill  City,  Graham  County, 
Kan.,  without  irrigation: 

"  Four  consecutive  winter  wheat  crops  have  been  harvested 
from  this  farm,  and  no  year  has  the  yield  been  less  than  40 
bushels  per  acre.  "  § 

At  Lisbon,  N.  D.,  were  grown  on  the  grounds  of  the 
Soldiers'  Home,  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Mcllvaine,  in 
1897,  under  the  Campbell  Method  of  soil  culture,  forty-six 
thousand  pounds,  or  twenty-three  tons  per  acre  of  sugar-beets. 

On    page    63    of    "  Campbell's    Soil    Culture    Manual," 

*  The  Scientific  Farmer,  June,    1906. 

t  The  Sdentifif  Farmer,  April,   1906. 

$  The  Scientific  Farmer,  April,  1906. 

§"  Campbell's  Soil  Culture  Manual,"  1905. 


APPENDIX  283 

1905,  is  shown  a  cut  of  a  cornfield  conducted  under  the 
Campbell  system  at  Lisbon,  N.  D.,  yielding  84  bushels  per 
acre. 

"  I  have  farmed  seven  years  in  Nebraska,  sixteen  in  Iowa, 
five  in  Missouri,  and  six  in  New  Mexico.  .  .  .  Like 
everyone  else,  I  supposed  that  irrigation  was  a  necessity 
here  [New  Mexico],  .  .  .  but  I  discovered  in  1894,  that 
being  the  dryest  year  ever  known  in  New  Mexico,  that 
irrigation  is  not  a  necessity,  as  I  raised  555  bushels  of  oats 
on  ten  acres  of  ground  with  absolutely  no  irrigation  and 
no  rain  until  the  first  week  in  July.  Nature  having  given 
me  a  hint,  I  concluded  in  1895  to  take  my  chances  in  dry 
farming.  Again,  as  a  result,  on  fourteen  acres  I  harvested 
3,600  pounds  of  oats;  one  variety  went  85  bushels  to  the 
acre.  One  acre  of  Speltz  went  83  bushels.  .  .  . "  * 

Again,  Mr.  C.  C.  Williams,  in  the  June,  1906,  number 
of  The  Scientific  Farmer,  tells  of  barley  seven  feet  high, 
oat  heads  thirty  inches  long,  and  running  1 10  bushels  to  the 
acre;  apples  weighing  22  ounces  each;  pears,  19  ounces; 
peaches,  12  ounces;  water  melons,  40  pounds;  cabbage 
heads,  42  pounds;  grown  on  Las  Vegas  Land  Grant,  New 
Mexico.  "  I  do  not  mean  to  indicate,"  he  continues,  "  that 
such  yields  as  these  are  the  average,  but  I  do  mean  that  from 
65  to  70  bushels  of  oats;  30  to  50  bushels  of  corn;  50  to  75 
bushels  of  barley;  30  to  45  bushels  of  wheat;  250  to  300 
bushels  of  potatoes,  and  16  to  22  tons  of  sugar-beets  per  acre 
can  and  are  being  grown  in  the  Territory  under  irrigation 
and  with  very  ordinary  methods  of  farming. 

"  I  also  mean,  that  crops  as  good,  and  sometimes  better, 
are  being  grown  to-day  in  various  sections  of  the  Territory, 

*  W.  H.  Comstock,  Las  Vegas,  N.  M.,  The  Scientific  Farmer,  June, 
1906. 


284  APPENDIX 

particularly    around    Las    Vegas,    under   scientific    farming 
methods  without  irrigation." 

APPENDIX  No.  9 
Raising  Dates  in  the  Sahara  Desert 

"  In  the  great  desert  of  northern  Africa,  stretching  across 
in  a  belt  from  southeastern  Algeria  to  the  borders  of 
Tripoli,  is  the  region  known  as  the  '  Erg.'  It  is  a  land 
of  enormous  sand  hills.  .  .  .  Not  a  leaf  nor  a  blade  of 
grass,  not  a  boulder  nor  a  pebble  mars  the  smoothness  of 
the  sand. 

"  Never  is  the  least  trace  of  water  to  be  seen  on  its  surface. 
There  are  no  natural  springs,  although  ground-water  is  every- 
where very  near  the  surface  in  the  hollows  of  the  dunes.  .  .  . 
The  soil  of  the  whole  Oued  Souf  region  is  a  fine-grained, 
light-yellow  quartz  sand.  Yet  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Erg, 
two  long  days'  ride  east  and  west  from  the  nearest  habitations, 
there  exists  one  of  the  most  highly  developed  agricultural 
communities  in  the  world. 

'  This  is  the  country  known  as  the  Oued  Souf,  situated 
in  extreme  southeastern  Algeria.  .  .  .  The  type  of  agri- 
culture practiced  in  the  Oued  Souf  is  not  dry-land  farming, 
for  it  depends  upon  the  ground-water,  which  in  the  gar- 
dens is  everywhere  near  the  surface  of  the  soil. 

"  It  affords  us,  however,  an  excellent  object  lesson  of  what 
can  be  done  under  the  most  adverse  natural  conditions  in 
producing  a  valuable  crop,  for  throughout  northern  Africa 
the  Oued  Souf  is  renowned  for  the  large  yields  of  its  date 
orchards  and  the  high  quality  of  their  fruit.  ...  [It  was 
impossible  to  secure  very  reliable  statements  of  yields  from 
the  natives,  but  from  all  that  could  be  learned  these  must 
be  unusually  large  in  the  Souf  country.] 


APPENDIX  285 

"  The  clusters  of  the  large  Deget  Noor  are  said  fre- 
quently to  weigh  over  55  pounds  each,  and  to  attain  some- 
times 90  pounds. 

"  Single  trees  of  this  variety,  which  is  one  of  the  largest 
bearing  kinds,  sometimes  yields  as  much  as  330  pounds  in  the 
Oued  Souf. 

"It  was  estimated  in  1883  that  the  date  crop  from  the 
175,000  palms  [of  all  varieties]  in  full  bearing  then  existing 
in  the  Souf  region,  was  7,000,000  pounds.  This  would 
mean  an  average  yield  of  40  pounds  per  tree,  as  against  an 
average  yield  of  28  pounds  estimated  to  have  been  produced 
in  the  Oued  Rirh  the  same  year.* 

"  A  good  palm  tree  in  full  bearing  is  valued  at  from  $50 
to  $130,  according  to  the  variety  to  which  it  belongs."  f 

APPENDIX  No.  10 

ONE-ACRE  FARM  IN  THE  SACRAMENTO  VALLEY 
"  Barn  and  corral  space,  75  x  75  feet ;  rabbit-hutch,  25  x 
25  feet ;  house  and  porches,  30  x  30  feet ;  two  windmill 
towers,  i6x  16  feet  each;  garden,  46x94  feet;  blackberries, 
16x90  feet;  strawberries,  65x90  feet;  citrus  nursery, 
90x98  feet;  in  which  there  are  2,300  trees  budded;  one 
row  of  dewberries,  100  feet  long;  4  apricot  trees;  2  oak 
trees;  3  peach  trees;  6  fig  trees;  10  locust  trees;  30  assorted 
roses;  20  assorted  geraniums;  12  lemon  trees,  bearing,  which 
are  seven  years  old;  lime  tree,  nine  years  old  and  bearing, 

*  "  Agriculture  Without  Irrigation  in  the  Sahara  Desert  ":  Thomas 
H.  Kearney.  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of 
Plant  Industry.  Bulletin  No.  86,  1905. 

f  "  These  estimates  are  quoted  from  Holland  [ibid,,  p.  324].  The 
overwhelming  importance  of  the  date  crop  in  the  Souf  region  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  the  same  author  states  the  value  of  the 
1883  crop  of  dates  to  have  been  $301,730,  while  that  of  all  other 
crops  combined  was  only  $20,900  in  that  year." 


286  APPENDIX 

from  which  were  sold  last  year  160  limes;  8  bearing  orange 
trees;  4  bread-fruit  trees;  5  pomegranate  trees;  one  patch  of 
bamboo;  3  lilies;  4  prune  trees;  3  blue  gum  trees;  6  cypress 
trees;  4  grape  vines;  I  English  ivy;  2  honeysuckles;  one 
seed-bed ;  one  violet  bed ;  one  sage  bed ;  2  tomato  vines ;  1 3 
stands  of  bees." — [William  E.  Smythe,  in  Maxwell's  Talis- 
man, February,  1904.] 

APPENDIX  No.  ii 

"The  London  Daily  News  reports  that  in  the  year  1905, 
which  was  not  a  good  year  for  all  crops,  on  half  an  acre  of 
land,  Mr.  Henry  Vincent,  of  Brighton,  England,  raised  the 
following  products :  *  _  . 

i-         S.          (1 . 

2,660  cabbages  at  y2d.  and  id.  each  . .  9  18  4  $48.68 
70  bushels  spinach  at  4d.  and  5d.  per 

gal 5  6  7  26.14 

950  cauliflowers  at  id.  and  i^d. 

each 5  6  8  26.16 

Parsley  at  id.  and  2d.  a  bunch 4  I  8  19.93 

1,460  lettuces  at  */2d.  and  id.  each  . .  4  I  7  19.91 

660  broccoli  at  id.  and  i^d.  each  .  .  3  17  9  19.09 

16  bushels  of  potatoes  2  18  10  14.50 

bushels  Brussels  sprouts 2  16  o  13.80 

gallons  peas  at  6d.  per  gal.  ...  2  13  3  13.11 

1 20  gallons  artichokes  at  5d.  per  gal.  2  10  O  12.30 

Flowers  2  9  2  1 2.09 

267  vegetable  marrows  at  I l/2d.  each.  .  I  13  9  8.33 

2,976  carrots  at  eight  for  id I  n  o  7.65 

264  bundles  radishes  at  30  for  id.  ..  i  7  10  6.88 

14  gallons  French  beans o  18  3  4.56 

12  gallons  currants  at  is.  4d.  per  gal.  o  16  o  4.00 

•"Three  Acres  and  Liberty":  Bolton  Hall. 


APPENDIX  287 

£  s.  d. 

95^2  punnets  mustard  at  2d.  each. ...  o  15  11  $3.97 

27  pounds  mushrooms  at  6d.  per  Ib.  o  13  6  3.37 

Rhubarb    O  n  10  2.97 

948  bushels  sprout  tops  at  four  for  id.  o  19  9  4.93 

38  dozen  leeks  at  6d.  per  doz.  . .  o  19  o  4.75 

1,150  plants  sold  at  6d.  per  100  .  . .  .  o  5  9  1.43 

1 1/4  gallons  bread  beans O  3  9  1.03 

97  bundles  sea-kale  at  6d 2  8  6  1 1.92 

978  bundles  of  asparagus-kale  at   id.  2  I  6  io.ii 

504  beet  roots  at  y^d.  and  id.  each.  .204  9.88 
2,913   gallons  gooseberries  at    is.  4d. 

per  gal I  19  9  9.83 

219  bundles  mint  at  2d.  per  bundle  I  16  o  8.90 

20  bundles  sage  at  2d.  per  bundle  o  3  4  .83 

One  cart-load  stones   O  2  6  .62 

1 8  bundles  of  fennel  at  2d.  per  bundle  032  .79 

Thyme   O  i  6  .37 

68      8      9  $337.i8 
The  year's  expenses  were  as  follows: 

£  s.  d. 

Rent  for  half  acre  2  6  8 

Sutton  &  Sons'  Seeds 2  4  o 

Hired  labor I  12  o 

Tilley's  Seeds   o  7  6 

One  pair  garden  boots o  9  6 

One  pair  trousers o  8  9 

Two  new  measures   o  3  3 

Seven  loads  manure   I  9  o 

9       o       8~$44.26 " 

This  leaves  a  profit  of  59-odd  pounds,  or  about  $300.    Thus 
this  yield  is  at  the  rate  of  $600  per  acre. 


288  APPENDIX 

APPENDIX  No.  12 
FISH  AND  GAME 

The  successful  breeding  of  fish  and  game  for  the  market 
has  long  been  practiced  in  Europe,  and  has  become  an  estab- 
lished industry  which  is  but  little  known  in  the  United 
States. 

The  demand  for  fish  and  game  is  a  constant  and  increasing 
one,  and  the  markets  can  never  be  sufficiently  supplied. 

There  is  a  constant  demand  for,  and  large  profits  to  be 
made  in  the  breeding  of  such  fish  as  carp,  trout,  grayling, 
black-bass,  perch,  sunfish,  pike,  pickerel,  frogs,  minnows,  and 
others.  And  in  such  game-birds  and  animals  as  pheasants, 
quail,  beaver,  mink,  otter,  marten,  muskrat,  skunk,  raccoon, 
fox,  squirrel,  rabbit,  hare,  wolves,  coyotes,  bob-cats,  buffalo, 
deer,  and  elk. 

"  Game  farming  in  America  is  a  new  feature  that  has 
come  to  stay,  and  profits  will  be  large  for  the  first  people  in 
the  business. 

"  Wild  meat  is  appetizing  and  healthful,  and  people  will 
buy  it  when  obtainable.  It  was  the  principal  article  of  food 
for  early  settlers,  in  the  East  and  in  the  West,  and  a  leading 
diet  for  the  city  and  town  people  at  that  time.  It  is  con- 
sidered more  easily  digested  than  beef,  mutton,  or  pork. 

"  Game  farming  is  recommended  and  encouraged  by  the 
Agricultural  Department  of  the  U.  S.  Government. 

"  It  costs  no  more  to  raise  a  deer  than  a  mutton  sheep, 
yet  it  sells  at  six  to  ten  times  as  much.  It  costs  no  more 
to  raise  a  buffalo  than  a  cow,  and  it  sells  at  six  to  ten  times 
as  much — and  there  is  about  as  good  profit  in  raising  wapiti 
or  the  round-horned  elk. 

"  Beaver  can  be  grown  at  $5.00  to  $10.00  per  head,  and 


APPENDIX  289 

are  marketable  at  $40.00  to  $50.00  each.  We  have  had 
experience  with  the  rearing  and  marketing  of  all  of  them. 

"  If  it  costs  $35.00  to  raise  a  cow  that  sells  at  $50.00, 
there  is  $15.00  net  profit;  if  it  costs  $35.00  to  raise  a  buffalo 
and  it  sells  at  from  $250.00  to  $400.00,  there  is  a  profit  of 
$215.00  to  $365.00 — or  as  much  profit  on  the  lower-priced 
buffalo  as  on  14  cows. 

"  If  a  mutton  sheep  sells  at  $5.00  and  it  costs  $3.00  to 
grow  it,  there  is  $2.00  each  net  profit.  If  a  deer  sells  at 
$20.00  to  $30.00  to  the  butcher,  and  it  costs  $3.00  to  grow 
it,  there  is  $17.00  profit — or  as  much  as  there  is  in  growing 
Sy2  sheep."  * 

ELK  AND  DEER  f 

"  The  wapiti,  or  Rocky  Mountain  elk,  and  the  Virginia 
deer  .  .  .  the  two  native  animals  best  suited  for  the  pro- 
duction of  venison  in  the  United  States.  At  the  present 
time  this  species  [the  wapiti]  affords  a  most  promising  field 
for  ventures  in  breeding  for  profit. 

"  The  elk  has  been  acclimatized  in  many  parts  of  the 
world,  and  shows  the  same  vigor  and  hardiness  wherever  it 
has  been  transplanted. 

'  The  Biological  Survey  has  recently  obtained  much  in- 
formation from  owners  of  herds. 

"  Of  about  a  dozen  successful  breeders,  nearly  all  are 
of  the  opinion  that  raising  elk  for  market  can  be  made 
remunerative  if  present  laws  as  to  the  sale  of  the  meat  are 
modified. 

*  Pamphlet  issued  by  the  American  Game  Association,  1909. 

t  "  Deer  Farming  in  the  United  States":  D.  E.  Lantz,  Assistant, 
Biological  Survey.  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture;  Farmers' 
Bulletin  No.  330,  July  29,  1908. 


290  APPENDIX 

"  One  especially  important  fact  has  been  developed  by  the 
reports  from  breeders.  It  is  that  the  elk  readily  adapts  itself 
to  almost  any  environment." 

George  W.  Russ  of  Eureka  Springs,  Ark.,  says  that,  "  elk 
meat  can  be  produced  in  many  sections  of  this  country  at 
less  cost  per  pound  than  beef,  mutton,  or  pork." 

"  Thomas  Blagden,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  began  raising 
deer  in  1874.  After  an  experience  of  over  a  third  of  a 
century  he  is  confident  that  the  business  can  be  made  profit- 
able. 

"  His  stock  is  vigorous  and  of  the  large  size  characteristic 
of  the  Adirondacks  and  other  northern  deer.  Consequently 
the  animals  are  in  demand  for  breeding  purposes,  the  bucks 
bringing  $50  each  and  the  does  $75. 

"  He  feeds  grain,  using  corn  and  a  mixture  of  bran  and 
meal,  and  during  the  summer  cuts  as  much  wild  forage  as 
possible.  He  finds  that  the  animals  prefer  the  rankest 
weeds  to  the  choicest  grasses.  Of  the  various  kinds  of 
hay,  they  prefer  alfalfa.  He  provides  abundant  water  at 
all  times." 

"  John  W.  Griggs,  of  Goodell,  la.,  writes  that  he  has  been 
engaged  in  raising  deer  for  about  fourteen  years. 

"  Until  two  years  ago  he  sold  all  his  surplus  stock  for 
parks,  but  since  then  has  disposed  of  about  half  of  it  for 
venison.  For  park  purposes  he  gets  $20  to  $30  a  head, 
but  they  bring  fully  as  much  or  more  when  fattened  for 
venison." 

As  to   management  of  deer,   Mr.   Griggs  writes: 

"  In  raising  a  large  herd  the  park  should  be  divided  into 


APPENDIX  291 

two  or  three  lots,  and  one  plowed  each  year  and  sown  to 
red  clover,  mustard,  rape,  and  seeds  of  different  kinds  of 
weeds. 

"  Bluegrass  and  timothy  are  useless.  Corn  is  the  prin- 
cipal grain  I  feed.  I  feed  it  winter  and  summer.  In  winter 
I  feed  also  clover  hay,  oat  straw,  and  weedy  wild  hay. 
Deer  when  rightly  handled  are  very  prolific,  and  from  50 
does  one  can  count  on  75  fawns." 

Under  the  date  of  January  13,  1908,  Mr.  C.  H.  Rose- 
berry,  of  Stella,  Mo.,  writes  as  follows: 

"  My  experience  in  breeding  the  common  or  Virginia  deer 
covers  a  period  of  seventeen  years.  .  .  .  For  the  last  seven 
years  my  herd  has  averaged  70  per  cent,  increase,  all  of 
which  I  have  sold  at  satisfactory  prices.  I  began  selling  at 
$20  per  pair  of  fawns  at  4  months  of  age  and  $30  per 
pair  of  adults.  I  now  get  $40  and  $60  respectively. 

"  I  sell  almost  exclusively  for  pets  and  for  propagating 
purposes,  although  a  few  surplus  bucks  have  been  sold  for 
venison. 

"If  we  except  the  goat,  I  know  of  no  domestic  animal 
common  to  the  farm  that  requires  so  little  feed  and  attention 
as  the  deer. 

"  My  herd  has  a  range  of  only  15  acres,  two-thirds  of 
which  are  set  to  white  clover,  bluegrass,  and  orchard  grass. 
I  provide  also  a  small  plat  of  wheat  or  rye  for  winter  pasture. 
With  the  above  provision,  in  this  latitude,  no  feed  is  re- 
quired between  April  15  and  November  15. 

"  During  the  rest  of  the  year  a  ration  of  corn,  bran,  or 
other  mild  feed  somewhat  smaller  than  that  required  for 
sheep,  in  connection  with  a  stack  of  clover  or  pea  hay  to 
which  they  have  free  access,  is  sufficient  to  keep  them  in 


292  APPENDIX 

good  condition.  Deer  eat  with  relish  nearly  all  of  the  com- 
mon coarse  weeds,  and  for  clearing  land  of  brush  they  are, 
I  think,  second  only  to  the  common  goat. 

"  Probably  the  greatest  expense  connected  with  the  busi- 
ness of  raising  deer  is  the  fencing. 

"  I  have  found  the  business  profitable  on  the  lines  indi- 
cated. I  believe  they  could  be  profitably  bred  for  venison 
alone — certainly  with  less  trouble  and  expense,  since  the 
fawns  would  be  reared  by  the  does,  and  the  trouble  and  ex- 
pense of  raising  by  hand  would  be  eliminated." 

Summary 

"  The  wapiti  and  the  Virginia  deer  can  be  raised  success- 
fully and  cheaply  under  many  different  conditions  of  food 
and  climate. 

"  Instead  of  hampering  breeders  by  restrictions,  as  at  pres- 
ent, State  laws  should  be  so  modified  as  to  encourage  the 
raising  of  deer,  elk,  and  other  animals  as  a  source  of  profit 
to  the  individual  and  to  the  State. 

"  Safeguards  against  the  destruction  and  sale  of  wild 
deer  in  place  of  domesticated  deer  are  not  difficult  to  en- 
force. For  this  purpose  a  system  of  licensing  private  parks, 
and  of  tagging  deer  or  carcasses  sold  or  shipped,  so  that  they 
may  be  easily  identified,  is  recommended. 

"  It  is  believed  that  with  favorable  legislation  much  other- 
wise waste  land  in  the  United  States  may  be  utilized  for  the 
production  of  venison  so  as  to  yield  profitable  returns,  and 
also  that  this  excellent  and  nutritious  meat,  instead  of 
being  denied  to  99  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  the  country, 
may  become  as  common  and  as  cheap  in  our  markets  as 
mutton." 


APPENDIX  293 

SILVER  Fox  FARMING  * 

"  Of  all  the  products  derived  from  wild  animals,  furs 
are  the  most  useful  and  valuable. 

"  Many  furs,  like  ivory,  whalebone,  and  other  natural 
commodities,  already  are  so  scarce  that  the  demand  for  them 
is  met  largely  by  the  substitution  of  inferior  products. 

"  The  Biological  Survey  as  yet  has  not  investigated  the 
Alaska  blue  fox  industry,  but  a  study  of  silver  fox  raising  has 
been  made,  in  the  course  of  which  a  number  of  persons  en- 
gaged in  the  business  were  visited  and  their  methods  ex- 
amined. 

"  Thus  far,  the  breeding  of  silver  foxes  has  been  carried 
on  chiefly  in  the  State  of  Maine  and  in  the  Canadian  Mari- 
time Provinces — New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Prince 
Edward  Island.  It  has  been  undertaken  to  some  extent  also 
in  Michigan,  Alaska,  Labrador,  and  Newfoundland. 

"  The  natural  habitat  of  the  red,  cross,  and  silver  foxes 
includes  the  greater  part  of  northern  North  America,  from 
the  central  United  States  northward  to  and  including  the 
border  of  the  treeless  tundra. 

"  The  red  phase  inhabits  nearly  all  this  region,  but  the 
silver  phase,  although  known  in  most  parts  of  it,  is  very 
irregularly  distributed.  In  general  it  is  much  more  common 
in  northern  localities  than  in  southern. 

"  Foxes  require  very  little  space  and  thrive  in  inclosures 
not  more  than  40  feet  square.  ...  A  total  space  of  5 
acres  is  ample  for  extensive  operations,  and  it  is  not  likely 
that  more  than  2  acres  will  be  needed  for  any  except  a  large 
and  long-established  business. 

•"Silver  Fox  Farming":  Wilfred  H.  Osgood,  Assistant,  Biologi- 
cal Survey.  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture ;  Farmers'  Bulletin 
No.  328,  August  8,  1908. 


294  APPENDIX 

"  A  half  acre  will  accommodate  about  6  pairs  of 
foxes,  which  is  as  many  as  a  beginner  should  attempt  to 
handle. 

"  Wild  foxes  eat  a  great  variety  of  food,  including  mice, 
rabbits,  birds,  and  insects,  such  as  grasshoppers,  crickets,  and 
beetles.  At  certain  seasons  large  quantities  of  berries  are 
eaten.  Meat,  therefore,  is  only  a  part  of  their  natural  diet. 
.  .  .  Fresh  drinking  water,  of  course,  should  be  supplied 
regularly. 

"  A  fair  daily  allowance  for  each  fox  is  one-fourth  of  a 
pound  of  meat  and  a  small  handful  of  miscellaneous  scraps. 
One  of  the  most  successful  breeders  feeds  a  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  meat  and  a  quart  of  skim  milk  daily.  Another 
varies  the  meat  diet  with  a  sort  of  hoecake  made  of  corn- 
meal  and  sour  milk. 

"  The  meat  used  is  beef  or  mutton  in  the  form  of  butcher's 
scraps,  unsalable  parts,  and  the  like,  or,  most  commonly, 
horse  meat  procured  especially  for  the  purpose.  Horse 
meat  is  very  satisfactory  food  for  foxes  and  especially  com- 
mends itself  on  account  of  its  cheapness. 

"  When  located  on  the  seacoast  near  fishing  settlements, 
fox  raisers  supply  fish,  lobsters,  and  other  sea  foods  to  their 
foxes  at  little  or  no  cost  and  find  them  satisfactory.  The 
expense  of  feeding  is  thus  comparatively  small. 

"  According  to  an  estimate  of  one  of  the  most  experienced 
fox  breeders,  who  fed  butcher's  meat  and  skim  milk,  the 
cost  of  feeding  one  fox,  when  everything  is  purchased,  is 
i  cent  per  day.  In  actual  practice,  however,  the  cost  in  his 
case  was  much  less,  since  he  was  able  to  utilize  the  scraps 
from  his  own  table  and  to  obtain  much  other  material  from 
his  neighbors. 

"  The  number  of  young  in  a  litter  varies  from  two  to 


APPENDIX  295 

eight,  the  average  number  born  to  adult  parents  being 
five." 

"  Ernest  Thompson  Seton  has  an  article  in  Country  Life 
in  America  for  January,  1906,  on  raising  fur-bearing  animals 
for  profit. 

"  He  describes  two  fox  ranches  at  Dover,  Me.  They 
raise  twenty  to  forty  silver  foxes  a  year,  on  a  little  more  than 
half  an  acre  of  land.  The  silver  fox's  fur  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  on  the  market  and  sells  at  an  average  of  $150  a 
pelt,  that  is,  $3,000  to  $6,000  gross  for  the  year's  work. 
.  .  .  Foxes  are  not  expensive  to  breed.  .  .  .  The  capital 
required  is  small. 

"Mr.  Seton  remarks,  '  I  am  satisfied  that  any  man  who 
has  made  a  success  of  hens  can  make  a  success  of  foxes,  with 
this  advantage  for  the  latter:  a  fox  requires  no  more 
space  or  care  than  a  hen,  but  is  worth  twenty  times  as 
much,  and  so  gives  a  chance  for  returns  twenty  times  as 
large."  * 

"  Without  making  extensive  estimates  of  the  profits  of  a 
well-established  fox  farm,  it  may  be  said  simply  that  every 
silver  fox  raised  is  likely  to  yield  a  pelt  having  a  market  value 
of  over  $100. 

"  Even  pale  skins  bring  this  figure,  and  darker  ones  much 
more.  Pure  black  skins  command  almost  fabulous  prices, 
ranging  from  $500  to  $2,000.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  a 
moderate  income  may  be  derived  by  raising  comparatively 
few  foxes. 

"  In  1905,  as  reported  in  the  Fur  Trade  Review,  the  total 
number  of  silver  fox  skins  offered  [in  London]  at  the  two 
sales  was  1,097. 

"  This  includes  all  grades  from  very  pale  to  pure  black. 

*"  Three  Acres   and  Liberty":  Bolton   Hall. 


296  APPENDIX 

In   1906  the  total  number  was  1,934  skins  ...   in   1907 
the  total  number  was  1,909. 

"The  highest  priced  skin  realized  £440  [$2,140]." 

PHEASANTS  * 

"  There  is  no  mystery  about  rearing  pheasants — and  few 
absolute  rules.  .  .  .  The  following  suggestions  are  de- 
signed to  give  a  basic  knowledge  of  the  bird,  its  nature  and 
habits,  so  that  the  pheasant  owner  may  intelligently  apply 
the  data  to  his  own  birds,  making  due  allowance  for  local 
conditions: 

"  The  Ground. — If  free  to  select,  place  the  pheasant  runs 
on  a  hillside  sloping  south  or  southeast,  with  buildings  ex- 
tending across  the  hill  and  the  runs  from  north  to  south. 
The  location  should  be  well  drained  .  .  .  plenty  of  sun- 
shine and  shade  are  necessary.  Pheasants  are  not  injured 
by  getting  wet  when  it  rains,  but  dry  houses  and  sanitary 
yards  are  necessary  if  good  results  are  to  be  attained. 

"  The  House. — Any  material  may  be  used,  but  wood  is 
preferable.  Each  shed  for  a  pen  of  birds  [4  hens  and  a 
cock]  may  be  ten  feet  from  front  to  back,  five  feet  long  and 
sloping  from  six  feet  next  the  run  to  four  feet  at  the 
rear.  A  good  roof  is  necessary.  The  front  of  the  house 
facing  the  run  is  left  open.  No  floor  is  laid  as  earth  is 
better.  This  should  be  five  inches  above  the  level  of  the 
run. 

"  If  the  ground  does  not  furnish  natural  dust-baths,  they 
should  be  provided,  as  they  are  very  necessary  to  keep  the 
*  Addresses  of  persons  engaged  in  rearing  pheasants  from  whom 
reliable  information  can  be  obtained  concerning  the  industry:  J.  G. 
Green,  Jr.,  Columbiana,  Ohio;  the  American  Game  Association, 
Denver,  Col.;  Gene  M.  Simpson,  Corvallis,  Ore.;  H.  W.  Myers, 
Tacoma,  Wash.;  Wallace  Evans,  Oak  Park,  111. 


APPENDIX  297 

birds  tree  from  lice  and  their  plumage  in  good  condi- 
tion. 

"  The  Runs. — These  should  contain  at  least  100  square 
feet  for  every  pen  of  birds.  It  should  be  constructed  of 
wire  netting,  of  one-inch  mesh,  three  feet  wide,  sunk  18 
inches  into  the  ground  as  a  protection  against  rats,  weasels, 
etc.  Do  not  use  boards  at  the  base  of  the  fence. 

"  The  top  may  be  any  height — six  feet  enables  a  man  to 
work  without  stooping.  The  run  should  be  covered  with 
netting.  It  is  well  to  put  a  second  top  of  string  netting  10 
inches  below  the  wire  as  the  birds,  when  frightened,  fly  into 
the  wire  netting  and  frequently  kill  themselves.  .  .  .  The 
run  should  have  an  entrance  at  each  end.  Numerous 
perches  at  least  5  inches  in  width  should  be  furnished  in  run- 
way and  house. 

"  In  winter  it  is  well  to  cover  the  run  two  inches  deep  with 
straw  to  keep  the  birds  off  the  cold  ground.  Chips  and 
dead  limbs  are  good  to  put  in  the  runs  as  they  bring  bugs, 
etc.,  which  are  excellent  food.  It  is  well  to  plant  trees 
[preferably  evergreens]  in  the  runs. 

"  No  nests  are  required.  Cover,  such  as  cornstocks  or 
brush,  laid  against  the  fence  afford  a  retiring  place  where  the 
birds  can  lay.  This  is  important,  as  otherwise  eggs  are 
laid  anywhere  and  are  more  likely  to  be  broken.  This  also 
largely  prevents  egg-eating.  The  cocks  are  in  this  the  chief 
offenders.  .  .  .  Egg-eating  should  give  little  trouble  if 
the  eggs  are  laid  under  cover  and  gathered  daily. 

"  Treatment. — When  feeding,  enter  the  run  as  quietly  as 
possible.  Never  rush  around.  It  is  better  to  have  the  same 
person  care  for  them  all  the  time.  Never  catch  a  pheasant 
by  one  leg.  Their  legs  are  easily  broken."  Catch  them 
with  a  hand-net.  "  Lower  it  on  the  bird,  pressing  it  firmly 


298  APPENDIX 

to  the  ground.  Then  catch  it  with  a  hand  on  each  side 
pressing  the  wings. 

"  Each  variety  of  pheasants  should  be  kept  in  a  separate 
pen.  During  the  breeding  season  two  or  more  cocks  should 
never  be  left  in  a  pen  with  hens,  as  they  are  sure  to  fight 
and  badly  injure  or  kill  each  other.  Pheasants  may  be  kept 
in  a  pen  with  pigeons  or  quail,  but  not  with  chickens  or 
other  common  fowl. 

"  What  to  Feed. — Pheasants,  like  any  other  birds,  re- 
quire certain  food  elements.  Of  course  the  difference  in  en- 
vironment makes  a  difference  in  food  requirements.  Be 
careful  to  not  overfeed,  as  this  produces  disease.  Pheasants 
are  small  feeders;  fifty  cents  is  an  average  cost  per  year  for 
food.  This  is  about  half  the  cost  of  food  for  a  chicken. 

"  Variety  of  food  is  very  important.  Feed  twice  a  day — 
morning  and  evening.  Feed  no  more  than  will  be  cleaned 
up.  All  grain  and  mash  should  be  placed  in  tin  or  enameled 
dishes,  because  if  thrown  on  the  ground  the  remainder  be- 
comes sour  and  breeds  disease. 

"  Pheasants  require  an  abundance  of  green  food  such  as 
grass,  clover,  roots,  cabbage,  apples,  beets,  turnips,  etc.  .  .  . 
Feed  a  mash  three  times  a  week,  preferably  in  the  morning. 
This  is  made  of  equal  parts  of  corn  meal,  bran,  and  mid- 
dlings, with  the  addition  of  one  tablespoonful  of  beef  scraps 
for  each  bird.  Finely  chopped  boiled  or  raw  beef  may  be 
used  instead  of  the  beef  scraps.  The  mash  is  prepared  by 
adding  enough  water  to  make  the  mixture  crumbly,  but  not 
sloppy. 

'The  grain  foods  in  order  of  their  value  are:  wheat, 
kaffir-corn,  oats,  buckwheat,  rice,  millet,  and  canary  seed. 
Indian  corn  may  be  used  safely  in  small  quantities  in  cold 
weather. 


APPENDIX  299 

"  Fresh,  clean  water  should  be  furnished  every  day,  and 
in  summer  time  preferably  twice  a  day. 

"  Breeding. — The  rule  should  be  not  over  three,  and 
preferably,  one  hen  to  a  cock. 

"  Eggs. — Gather  every  day.  Set  as  soon  as  possible.  If 
not  set  at  once,  place  end  up  in  a  covered  box  containing 
bran.  Keep  in  a  dry,  cool  place,  and  turn  eggs  once  a  day. 
Never  keep  an  egg  over  14  days. 

"  Setting. — Pheasant  hens  are  not  good  mothers  when  in 
captivity.  Any  broody  hen  will  do,  but  a  light  hen  is 
preferred.  Cochin  bantams  are  much  used,  but  ordinary 
chickens  like  Plymouth  Rocks,  produce  equally  satisfactory 
results.  Be  sure  the  hen  is  free  from  lice  and  disease. 

"  Dust  the  hen  thoroughly  with  some  good  insect-powder 
before  setting,  and  thereafter  once  a  week,  but  not  within 
three  days  of  hatching.  Also  have  a  good  dust-bath  handy, 
so  she  can  dust  herself  when  she  wishes.  Feed  her  once  a 
day,  preferably  in  the  morning,  placing  food  and  water  be- 
fore the  nest  and  letting  her  get  off  herself.  Fresh  water 
should  be  kept  before  her  at  all  times. 

"  The  Nest. — Make  this  of  a  box  or  part  of  a  barrel, 
protected  from  the  rain.  The  sides  of  the  nest  should  be 
at  least  eight  inches  in  height.  Make  the  nest  of  sod 
formed  into  the  proper  shape.  Set  as  many  eggs  as  can  be 
comfortably  covered.  Leave  the  hen  alone. 

"  The  period  of  incubation  varies  with  the  variety  from 
21  to  28  days.  The  young  should  be  kept  with  the 
mother  in  the  nest,  24  hours  after  the  last  bird  is 
hatched. 

"  The  Coops  for  the  Young. — These  should  measure 
about  2  feet  square  and  18  inches  in  front,  sloping  to  14 
inches  in  the  back.  The  runway  should  be  about  4  feet  long 


300  APPENDIX 

and  as  wide  as  the  coop,  with  sides  I  foot  high,  made  of 
i/2-inch  mesh  wire  netting  or  boards.  The  top  of  the  run 
should  be  left  open. 

"  As  soon  as  the  birds  learn  the  call  of  their  foster-mother, 
give  them  their  liberty.  Young  birds  should  not  be  placed 
in  runs  with  old  birds.  Dust-baths  should  be  available. 
Feed  the  hen  and  young  separately. 

"  Feeding  the  Young. — Do  not  feed  the  young  birds  for 
24  hours  after  hatching.  Fine  grit  or  clean  sand  should  be 
furnished  as  soon  as  they  are  removed  to  the  coop.  For  first 
three  days  feed  eight  times  a  day,  gradually  reducing  the 
number  until,  at  the  end  of  three  weeks,  you  are  feeding  only 
three  times  a  day. 

'  The  ration  may  be  custard,  boiled  eggs,  prepared  game- 
foods.  .  .  .  The- custard  is  made  of  10  eggs  to  each  quart 
of  milk,  baked  dry.  To  bake  without  burning,  set  in  a  dish 
containing  water  and  put  in  the  oven. 

'  The  boiled  eggs  should  be  hard  and  chopped  fine. 
Eggs  and  milk  with  corn-meal  or  oat-meal  [not  rolled  oats] 
added  until  the  mixture  becomes  crumbly  is  also  a  good 
food. 

"  Boiled  potatoes  mashed  fine  with  finely  chopped  hard- 
boiled  eggs  makes  a  good  food.  Use  two  parts  of  potatoes 
to  one  of  eggs. 

"  Boiled  potatoes  and  boiled  meat  chopped  fine  and  mixed 
with  a  little  corn-meal  is  also  good. 

'  The  following  mixture  will  be  found  to  be  quite  a  satis- 
factory ration :  I  quart  of  milk,  I  quart  of  bone-flour,  2 
quarts  of  corn-meal,  2  quarts  of  wheat  middlings,  I  pint  of 
beef  scraps.  Mix  only  what  can  be  fed. 

"  Pheasants  should  be  fed  all  the  green  food  they  will  eat, 
such  as  lettuce,  clover,  diickweed,  etc. ;  all  green  food  should 


APPENDIX  301 

be  chopped  fine.  Also  feed  flies,  grasshoppers,  worms,  mag- 
gots, etc. 

"  After  the  first  few  days  begin  to  feed  small  grains  such 
as  millet,  hemp,  and  canary  seed,  and  increase  the  quantity 
until  you  have  them  off  the  soft  food.  It  is  advisable  to  get 
them  off  the  soft  food  as  soon  as  possible.  The  young 
should  have  fresh,  clean  water  all  the  time.  This  should  be 
so  arranged  that  the  birds  cannot  get  wet."  * 

Information  concerning  the  rearing  of  other  wild  fowl 
as  well  as  the  addresses  of  persons  engaged  in  the  business 
can  be  had  from  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 
Also  information  regarding  fish-  and  bee-culture,  the  rearing 
of  squabs,  growing  mushrooms,  flowers,  drug-plants,  and 
other  novel  uses  of  land. 

APPENDIX  No.  13 
THE  TWENTY-ACRE  FARM  f 

"  With  the  small  sum  of  $275.00  I  bought  twenty  acres  of 
rough  land  at  $12.50  per  acre,  in  Pawnee  County,  Neb. 
"  Land  near  by  sold  from  $35.00  to  $60.00  per  acre. 

*  Charles  F.  Denley,  Naturalist.     New  City,  N.  Y. 

t "  The  Twenty- Acre  Farm,"  owned  by  Mr.  Arnold  Martin  of 
Dubois,  Pawnee  County,  Neb.  With  Mr.  Martin's  present  knowl- 
edge of  soil  culture  and  experience  in  tillage,  it  would  not  be  an 
exaggeration  to  say  that  he  could  to-day  accomplish  practically  the 
same  results  on  one  half  the  amount  of  land.  It  must,  moreover,  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  locality  in  which  Mr.  Martin  lives  is,  in 
many  ways,  an  unfavorable  one  for  success  in  rational  farming, 
it  being  a  region  often  subject  to  many  of  the  atmospherical  and 
other  conditions  which  prevail  during  the  summer  months  in  the 
semi-arid  districts  farther  west,  such  as  droughts,  cloud-bursts,  hot 
blighting  winds,  and  occasional  insect  scourges. 


302  APPENDIX 

"  My  land  was  a  little  over  half  in  timber,  brush,  and 
hilly  ground ;  the  remainder  in  pasture.  Two-thirds  of  the 
farm  has  an  eastern  slope;  the  rest  slopes  toward  the  north. 
There  were  no  buildings  of  any  kind  upon  it — no  well,  no 
fruit  trees. 

"  I  paid  $100.00  down;  the  remainder  to  be  paid  in  five 
years  or  before,  at  seven  per  cent,  interest.  One  hundred 
and  seventy-five  dollars  remained  for  building  and  other 
improvements. 

"People  made  the  remark:  'What  is  that  man  going  to 
do  on  such  a  piece  of  land  ?  ' 

"  When  I  began  to  clear  off  the  timber  and  brush  during 
the  winter  days  when  nothing  else  could  be  done,  they 
changed  my  name  from  Martin  to  Hazelbrush. 

"  In  my  boyhood  I  learned  farming  amid  the  narrow  con- 
fines of  the  Swiss  Alps  along  the  river  Rhine. 

"  I  was  raised  on  a  six-acre  farm  and  was  always  a  natu- 
ral and  sincere  believer  in  intensive  farming.  I  could  see  in 
the  twenty  acres  a  chance  for  a  man  with  a  family  who 
had  not  a  great  amount  of  money,  to  lead  an  independent, 
healthful,  and  progressive  life. 

"  I  could  see  a  snap  and  a  fortune.  I  did  not  care  how 
badly  people  felt  concerning  me. 

"  The  more  they  talked,  the  more  I  exerted  myself  to 
make  the  farm  what  it  is  to-day.  To  make  a  small  farm 
profitable,  one  must  possess  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
soil,  and  plant  that  which  is  best  adapted  to  the  soil,  and 
robs  it  least  of  its  fertility. 

"  One  must  also  study  the  home  market  and  everything 
that  is  shipped  in  and  sells  at  a  high  price;  and  if  one  can 
grow  it  on  one's  own  farm,  it  is  well  to  raise  it. 

"  In    1897   I  harvested  from  3  acres  of  timber-land  678 


APPENDIX  303 

bushels  of  potatoes  which  sold  at  50  cents  per  bushel;  the 
early  ones  at  $1.00  per  bushel.  I  also  planted  corn  be- 
tween the  potato  rows,  producing  a  crop  of  corn  on  the 
same  land. 

"  In  1898  I  produced  from  5  acres  930  bushels  of  potatoes 
which  sold  at  45  cents  a  bushel.  Part  of  the  money  was 
spent  in  building  an  addition  to  the  house  and  in  planting 
more  fruit  trees.  In  1899  I  produced  1,085  bushels  of 
potatoes  from  7  acres  of  land  which  sold  at  35  cents  a 
bushel,  and  also  raised  a  crop  of  corn  between  the  rows. 

"  That  year  the  mortgage  was  paid  off  and  from  then  on, 
it  was  like  traveling  on  a  level  road. 

"  I  have  about  8  acres  of  north  slope  on  which  I  have 
a  pear  orchard  of  750  trees  from  three  to  six  years  old; 
some  having  borne  the  third  crop.  The  first  year  I  planted 
24  trees. 

"  Many  men  told  me  that  they  would  blight,  and  that  I 
would  never  see  any  fruit.  Last  year  one  tree  alone  brought 
me  over  3  bushels  which  I  sold  at  $1.50  the  bushel.  .  .  . 
I  had  pears  from  the  last  day  of  July  to  the  middle  of 
November. 

"  In  1900  I  produced  1,260  bushels  of  potatoes  from 
10  acres  which  sold  at  40  cents  a  bushel.  The  high  water 
flooded  a  part  of  my  potato  field,  and  on  the  I7th  of  May 
I  planted  corn  which  yielded  82  bushels  per  acre. 

"  During  the  last  three  years  I  have  had  no  forage  crops, 
so  I  sowed  some  clover  and  alfalfa. 

"  I  built  a  shed  with  a  board  roof  for  a  stable.  I  had  a 
few  trees  bent  together  and  covered  with  slough  grass,  but 
I  was  not  satisfied  to  have  my  animals  housed  that  way. 

"  In  the  spring  of  1901  I  planted  250  pear  trees,  and  5 
acres  of  potatoes.  With  only  three  and  a  half  inches  of  rain- 


304  APPENDIX 

fall  during  the  last  days  of  April,  I  was  able,  by  keeping 
up  cultivation  during  the  long  dry  period,  to  harvest  142 
bushels  from  each  acre. 

"These  sold  direct  from  the  field  at  $1.00  per  bushel 
and  upwards.  Every  load  would  bring  from  $46.00  to 
$52.00.  It  proved  what  can  be  done  on  a  small  farm  during 
a  dry  year  by  keeping  the  surface  of  the  soil  loose,  and  also, 
that  we  have,  to  a  certain  extent,  control  over  the  elements 
instead  of  being  slaves  to  them. 

"  The  potato  crop  and  the  crop  of  small  fruit  of  1901 
brought  me  $687.00  from  5^/2  acres.* 

"  In  the  winter  of  1901-1902  I  built  a  good  barn,  18  x  24 
feet  with  a  stone  basement  nine  feet  high.  ...  I  put  in 
the  best  material  I  could  get.  I  paid  off  the  fruit-tree  bill 
of  $145.00  and  bought  450  more  pear  trees  to  be  planted  in 
the  spring  of  1902. 

"  In  1902  I  harvested  1,600  bushels  of  potatoes  from  5 
acres  which  sold  at  20  cents  a  bushel;  I  received  $1.60  a 
bushel  for  the  early  ones. 

"  The  profit  of  the  1902  crop  went  to  pay  for  fruit  trees, 
a  well,  and  a  windmill,  and  an  irrigation  plant  to  irrigate 
during  dry  seasons,  but  the  latter  has  not  proved  as  profitable 
as  I  thought  it  would. 

"  Cultivation  is  cheaper  than  irrigation.  Store  the  moist- 
ure in  all  seasons  by  keeping  the  surface  of  the  soil  loose. 
Plow  the  potatoes  as  long  as  the  vines  are  green ;  plow  the 
corn  as  long  as  it  grows  and  is  making  ears.  It  not  only 
helps  the  growing  corn,  but  it  is  also  a  help  for  the  next 
year's  crop. 

*$3$o  to  $600 — the  average  annual  earnings  of  the  average 
wage-earner.  $687 — the  earnings  of  5^  acres  requiring  from  four 
and  a  half  to  five  months'  labor. 


APPENDIX  305 

"  Corn  not  only  needs  moisture,  but  air  as  well.  It  will 
get  air  if  the  surface  soil  is  loosened,  as  a  loose  surface  will 
hold  the  moisture  and  not  let  it  escape.  During  hot  days  I 
found  that  the  corn  grew  best  when  the  surface  was  kept 
loose  and  the  air  could  enter  the  roots  of  the  plants  together 
with  the  moisture  and  the  elements  from  which  the  corn- 
plant  is  made. 

"  Fall  plowing  also  helps  conserve  the  moisture,  and  the 
frost  will  pulverize  the  soil  much  cheaper  and  better  than  you 
or  I  can  do  it.  In  the  spring  of  1903  I  set  apart  5  acres  of 
good  land  for  corn. 

"  In  the  early  spring  I  disked  and  harrowed  the  land 
twice,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  April  I  took  the  lister  and 
drill  and  planted  the  corn  [Reed's  Yellow  Dent]  sixteen 
inches  apart. 

"  I  had  to  do  some  replanting  by  hand.  After  every  rain, 
as  soon  as  it  was  dry  enough,  I  went  over  the  field  with  a 
cultivator  or  weeder.  From  the  i8th  of  May  to  June  loth, 
we  had  a  long,  rainy,  cold  spell,  unfavorable  to  corn  growth. 
The  corn  looked  yellow  instead  of  green,  and  the  soil  could 
not  be  worked  for  twenty-three  days. 

"  As  soon  as  it  dried  off  [the  corn  was  about  ten  inches 
high],  I  gave  it  a  deep  cultivation  with  a  four-shoal  culti- 
vator, loosening  the  soil  and  letting  in  the  air  for  the  roots  to 
grow.  I  then  followed  twice  with  the  weeder  until  the  corn 
was  two  feet  high.  After  this  I  used  the  plane  Junior  small 
shovel-plow  and  kept  up  shallow  cultivation  until  the  8th 
of  August. 

"  We  had  a  dry  spell  from  July  5  to  August  6.  I  went 
through  the  corn  every  week  or  ten  days  while  it  was 
growing. 

"  Fields  of  corn  near  by  that  were  not  cultivated  began 


306  APPENDIX 

to  suffer;  the  lower  leaves  turned  yellow,  a  crust  formed  on 
the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  the  ground  cracked  open.  The 
moisture  was  lost  every  day  which  could  have  been  turned 
into  corn  had  cultivation  been  kept  up. 

"  From  the  I5th  to  the  i8th  of  September  I  cut  and  put 
the  corn  into  shocks;  after  it  was  cured,  I  husked  it  and 
put  it  in  the  barn.  The  fodder  was  fed  to  the  milk  cows; 
it  is  one  of  the  best  feeds  we  get  on  the  farm  if  properly 
taken  care  of. 

"  In  the  fall  I  plowed  the  ground  and  top  dressed  it  with 
manure.  The  yield  was  92  bushels  of  sound,  solid  corn  to 
the  acre. 

"  One  square  rod  of  corn  with  a  good  stand  along  the 
creek,  made  73  pounds  of  corn  in  the  ear.  A  second  square 
rod,  not  as  good  a  stand,  made  49  pounds  to  the  square  rod. 
Four  square  rods  [about  the  average  stand  of  the  field], 
made  172  pounds  of  corn  in  the  ear,  or  43  pounds  to  the 
square  rod,  or  92  bushels  to  the  acre. 

"  Six  rows  of  the  same  corn  were  set  apart  for  an  experi- 
ment. Cultivation  was  stopped  on  July  6.  The  first  half  of 
the  six  rows  was  irrigated  but  not  cultivated.  As  soon  as 
the  surface  of  the  soil  dried  off,  water  was  turned  on  again 
until  rain  fell  on  August  6. 

'  The  result  was  that,  at  husking  time,  the  corn  which  was 
cultivated  all  summer  up  to  the  8th  of  August,  yielded  92 
bushels  to  the  acre,  while  the  irrigated  plot  which  was 
never  cultivated  after  July  6,  produced  63  bushels  to  the 
acre. 

"  The  other  half  of  the  six  rows  which  was  neither  culti- 
vated nor  irrigated  produced  only  26  bushels  to  the  acre ;  an 
average  crop  which  has  never  paid  in  the  past  nor  the  present, 
nor  will  it  in  the  future. 


APPENDIX  307 

"  In  1903,  680  bushels  of  potatoes  were  harvested  and 
sold  from  70  cents  to  $1.00  a  bushel. 

"  One-half  acre  of  land  produced  142  crates  of  straw- 
berries, 14  crates  of  raspberries,  and  42  crates  of  blackberries. 
.  .  .  About  6  acres  of  potatoes  and  small  fruits  brought 
$833.00.  Where  did  the  money  go? 

"  It  went  into  a  new  cook-stove  and  a  sewing-machine. 
A  new  road-wagon  to  haul  products  to  market,  another  new 
farm-\vagon  and  other  machinery  were  needed.  The  rest 
of  the  money  was  put  in  the  bank,  and  with  the  help  of  the 
1904  crop,  I  built  a  new  house. 

"  Public  sentiment  has  changed.  '  That  man  makes  as 
much  as  we  do  on  our  large  farms,'  people  remarked. 

"  Every  display  of  my  farm  products  at  our  County  Fair 
has  proven  the  possibilities  of  what  can  be  done  on  a  twenty- 
acre  farm. 

"A  year  ago  [1904],  I  exhibited  40  ears  of  Reed's 
Yellow  Dent  corn  at  the  State  Fair.  The  score  was  87^; 
premium,  $32.00.  The  same  exhibit  was  awarded  a  gold 
medal  at  the  World's  Fair  in  St.  Louis. 

"  Another  20  ears  of  Reed's  Yellow  Dent  corn  took  a 
close  second  at  the  State  Fair. 

"  The  corn  exhibit  of  '  The  Twenty- Acre  Farm,'  held 
this  winter  at  the  Nebraska  Corn  Show,  scored  90.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  fruit. 

"  A  display  of  seven  varieties  of  pears  from  an  orchard 
planted  three  years  ago,  took  first  prize  at  the  State  Fair  at 
Lincoln,  Neb.,  last  autumn,  while  the  combined  fruit  exhibit 
of  '  The  Twenty- Acre  Farm '  was  awarded  a  silver  medal." 


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